Coal Age : devoted to the operating, technical and business problems of the coal-mining industry, Vol. 31, No. 2

McGr a w- Hil l

Pu b l is h in g Co m p a n y, In c. J a m b s H . M cfiltA iv, P r e s id e n t E . J . M e h r b n , V ic e -P r e s id e n t

Devoted to th e O perating, Technical and Business

Problem s of th e Coal-Mining In d u stry R . D a w s o n H a l l E n g in e e r in g E d ito r

Volume 31 N E W Y O R K , J A N U A R Y 13, 1927 N um ber 2

A uxiliary V entilation

A

W here there is gas the danger from recirculation is increased and still greater care should be taken. Some indications o f the p ossibility of such recirculation could be drawn from w atching the sw irling powder smoke as it leaves the airw ay that the fa n is ven tilatin g. I f no smoke can be seen near the fan intake and the clouds are heavy at the last crosscut, some assurance m ay be fe lt th at the fan does not draw from the effluent o f its own duct.

T here are great dangers in a g a ssy m ine i f the fan is perm itted to stop overnight and the place norm ally ventilated w ith au xiliary ventilation becom es filled w ith gas. When the fa n starts, a large volume o f g a s m ingled w ith air pours forth. I f any of th is comes in contact w ith the auxiliary fan, a com m utator spark m ay set it on fire. Or again the gas m ay come in contact w ith some other source o f flame.

It is a necessary rule th a t such accum ulations be sw ept out only on the off-shift w hen no men are in the m ine. In a gassy m ine there should be no fa n running in a return o f such a character and w here auxiliary fa n s are provided it is well to have all the places ven­

tilated by fa n s set so that the air from one w ill not approach the commutator o f another. T his lim its the number of places and m ust continue to do so until the industry g e ts the small perm issible m otors it needs for operation.

B u t w ith several ducts from one fan comes the danger o f unequal distribution o f air and o f inadequacy o f the air current received by them , one or all. T his is a m atter on w hich care m ust be exercised.

In g a ssy m ines auxiliary fan s like m ine fa n s should run every hour o f the day, every day o f the year, though some would stop them tem porarily for shooting.

U nfortunately, men will start fans w hen th ey should not do so and som etim es w ill move them into unsafe places and as a preventive fo r th is padlocks seem essen­

tial w ith keys in the hands o f the proper authority.

But if there are these dangers, why, say some, should the presence o f auxiliary fan s in m ines be perm itted?

The answ er is that there are dangers w ith our present equipment. Only the other day a broken door w as declared the cause o f an explosion. One authority declared he believed that not only w as one door broken down but that another was le ft open. An opened or a demolished door has frequently resulted in disaster.

The system s adopted hitherto o f v en tilatin g places have repeatedly been found defective and m ost o f them pos­

tulate that doors and curtains be kept closed w hereas travel requires them to be opened frequently.

Line brattices are often im perfectly erected. Stop­

pings in cross cuts frequently leak badly and som etim es are not promptly built or are sw ept down by a fall of rock. Our system o f ventilation today is neither fool­

proof nor accident proof any more than the system of auxiliary ventilation. B ut w ith regard to the latter, there is at tim es a lack o f general com prehension o f the proper technique and too great a disposition to take a chance.

Cashing In on P ublic Education

T

A ny m aterial th at is equally or uniform ly sized con­

tain s a greater percentage o f voids than one th a t is made up o f both large and small pieces indiscrim inately mixed. In burning the smaller or steam sizes o f anthra­

cite, draft is an im portant consideration, fo r i f the fuel bed is so dense th at the d raft is unable to force sufficient air fo r com bustion through it, the fire is un­

duly slu ggish or m ay go out altogether. One o f the ch ief difficulties heretofore encountered in attem pting to use buckwheat as a dom estic fuel has been the fa ct that it was not uniform ly sized, w ith the result th a t the sm aller pieces partially filled the in terstitia l openings between the larger ones and thus impeded the draft. In other words the fuel bed packed to such an extent as to render th is grade of coal ill-adapted to house heating in severe w eather unless some kind o f power blower w as used to augm ent natural draft.

Still another difficulty resulted from the large amount of undersized m aterial th a t norm ally accompanied buck­

wheat. The ordinary or standard opening in the grates o f house furnaces is i in. in w idth. Full-sized buck­

w heat w ill bridge across th is opening w ith fa ir cer­

tainty, but the sm aller pieces go through w ithout much difficulty. The result is th a t in order to hold the m a­

terial on the grates it is necessary to carry a fa irly 35

36 C O A L A G E ^Vol. 31, N o . 2 thick bed o f ashes. T his still further im pedes the

draft.

F or years the anthracite operators have been en­

deavoring to induce the public to use the sm aller or steam sizes of their product in dom estic or house heat­

ing. The results have not been altogether satisfactory, probably because o f the reasons above outlined. Re­

cently one o f the larger companies tried the experim ent o f m aking a buckwheat th at w as sized w ith unusual care and which th erefore contained little undersize m a­

terial. The product finally evolved w as m erely ordinary buckwheat th at w as run over the screens twice.

This new product w as given a tryout in the dom estic furnaces Qf various officials o f the company and, proving em inently successful there, w as placed on the market.

It is now being sold as “Special D om estic Buckwheat”

and brings a substantial premium over the ordinary variety. Those who have tried th is fuel report th at no particular difficulty is experienced in holding it on the grates and that it answ ers all requirem ents of a domes­

tic fuel. It has increased the average return realized from the three steam sizes by a m argin reported as exceeding 50c. per ton.

When it is considered th at approxim ately 9 i m illion tons o f buckwheat is produced annually the significance of th is figure to the region as a whole becomes im ­ m ediately apparent. The public has long been urged to use the small gx-ades of hard coal, but in order to do th is w ith the least inconvenience it m ust have available a product that w ill burn w ithout difficulty and one that w ill not be w asted through the grates.

Scrapping the O bsolete

A S A RULE, coal companies install equipment w ith / x the intention o f keeping it in service fo r a good m any yeax*s. In th e case of cei’tain classes of equip­

ment— that developed to a point closely appx’oxim ating the ultim ate in refinement— long-tim e operation is justifiable, pi-ovided the equipment continues to function about as efficiently and w ith about the sam e freedom from breakdown as w hen new.

It can be proved th at much m ore is spent during a period of, say, five years for m ain tain in g a worn-out cu ttin g machine, the depreciation charge o f which has been wiped out, than is incurred in the opei" tion o f a new m achine during an equal period, including a le g iti­

m ate charge fo r depreciation. T his is explained by the fa c t th at parts m ust be replaced much more frequently in an old than in a new m achine; furtherm ore, the cost o f all parts, w hen purchased as components or spares is considerably higher than th at o f identically the same parts w hen assembled.

The m erit o f equipment is not necessarily based upon its new ness or the excellence o f its condition— its true value should be determ ined by com paring it w ith the best devices available fo r the same use. A m achine m ay be the best obtainable w hen purchased and yet, in a strict sense, be “obsolete” w ith in a short tim e because o f the development or pei’fection o f some vastly superior device. T his leads to the question o f w hen should equipment be replaced. Broadly speaking, any piece of equipment should be replaced im m ediately whenever another type becomes available that is sufficiently bet­

ter, as measured by its ab ility to m ake savin gs, to w ar­

rant the replacement from a financial standpoint.

The same line of reasoning applies to supply-, as well as to m achinery equipment, such, for instance, as track rails and accessories. Only recently a new man w ith a cei’tain coal producer l-ecommended th at the 40-lb. l’ails on the m ain haulw ays in one of the company’s m ines be replaced w ith 60-lb. rails. The higher officials re­

fused to follow h is suggestion, arguing th at the rails already installed had been in service for less than a year. W ith figures involving the investm ent loss that would be incurred from the elim ination o f the old in stal­

lation and the cost of the new one, th is man showed conclusively to w hat extent the cost of production could be lowered. B u t th is w as all of no avail. The company w as wed, even to the point of obstinacy, to the old idea th at equipment should be kept in service either until it has paid for itse lf through the custom ary channel of depi’eciation, or until it w ears out.

N o firm that adopts this attitu d e as a broad policy can expect to survive the pi'esent and com ing days of keen com petition. Coal producers in th is respect m ust adopt the policy o f other basic industi’ie s— th at of steel, fo r instance. Sim ply stated, th is is : Replace equip­

m ent, even though com paratively new w henever the change w ill reflect a saving. The present economic situ ­

ation m ust alw ays govern and not any other eai’lier considei’ation.

Sturdier Etjuipm ent Is Coming

N

In the years gone by steam equipment m et the advei’se conditions o f m ining in an admii’able w ay for those days.

Steam engines because o f their very nature of construc­

tion, design and operation continued to perform their various functions even when given much inexpert atten ­ tion. L ost m otion, w ear and im pei’fect l-egulation sel­

dom com pletely prevented a steam engine from function­

ing, a t least a fte r a fashion, and th is is w hy some old steam men have clung to them in prefei’ence to electrical apparatus.

In line w ith th is greater demand for sturdier m a­

chines, even electrical shovels, w hich in m any instances have shown opei’atin g savin gs lai-ge enough to pay for them selves in tw o years, have lately gone through a period o f reconstruction. Changes o f design have been made prim arily w ith the idea of m aking them w ithstand those severe shocks and vibrations which are liable to be experienced even under the m ost oi’dinary m ine strip ­ ping conditions.

Greater dependence upon m ach in eiy and less depend­

ence upon human labor to perform the various oper­

ations o f loading, transpoi’ting, h oisting, etc., has necessi­

tated h igh capital investm ents. Each piece of equipment is so directly dependent upon others th at a w eak machine in any part of the system soon destroys th e whole plan o f opei'ation.

In some instances a poorly constructed m achine today w ill quickly and com pletely w ipe out all the expected sav­

in g s o f a new ly projected plan. The in sisten ce o f some o f the leading operators in the field upon stronger and sturdier equipment is therefore well founded.

Ja n u a r y 13, 1927 C O A L A G E 37

T u b in g fo r a u x ilia r y v e n tila tio n su sp en d e d fr o m g a n g w a y r o o f s u p p lie s fr e s h a ir to f a c e s o f th r e e b r e a s ts

B y h a n g in g th e d u ct from s t a p le s it is p ro tecte d fr o m in ju r y a n d is o u t o f t h e w a y o f tr ip s and tr a v e le r s

Ancient Versus New M ethods o f V entilation

Tubing

M

but the sy ste m of ventilation has received little mod­

ification. A ir continues to be circulated alm ost every­

where solely by means of double entries and crosscuts, a system so expensive that at no tim e did the m etal m ines see fit to adopt it. In recent years, however, the heat and hum idity of some of the m etal mines, the extensive use of explosives that on detonation em it poisonous fum es, the quantity of fine sil­

iceous rock dust made by the drills and an increased knowl­

edge o f the hygiene of mine operation caused metal - mine companies to look for an im­

proved form of localized ventilation that would make th eir m ines more healthful, their men more happy and efficient and their costs lower. Consequently, m any of them introduced small blowers and canvas tubing.

These blowers developed for use w ith boiler furnaces had by that tim e reached a high degree of perfection.

Soon a fter th is development coal-mining engineers began to follow the lead thus shown, and fans w ith canvas ducts were introduced into their m ines also.

E ngineers had noted that the use o f brattice cloth to direct air to the face o f dead ends between crosscuts added considerably to the resistance o f the air current. These brattice cloths interfered w ith haulage, w ere frequently torn down, were never tig h t, could not be carried close to the

By R, D aw son H all

E n g in e e r in g E d ito r , Coal A g e

Im perfect m ethods of su p p ly in g m ine faces w ith air have troubled us for years. A u x iliary ven tilation and tu b in g have recen tly been introduced, and th ey prom ise better air, im ­ proved m in in g m ethods and greater sa fe ty if properly planned and installed, but lik e many sa fety d evices th ey may them selves be sources

of danger if due precautions are not taken.

Fig-i Double Entry and Crosscuts

F i g - 2 Metal Mine

Methods

Curio in

« I

I -8

'S

fi

Fig. 3 V entilating by B ra ttic e Goth

face and were subject to damage from shooting.

The roadway also was narrowed by the erection of the brattice cloth. This m igh t be unobjectionable where the heading w as wide and ears w ere narrow, but unfortunately where the roof was weak it w as not always practicable to carry a wide roadway, and also the demand for big cars to provide for large tonnage made it essential th at the small roadway available should not be further reduced.

The work of erecting such cloths w as considerable, and their short life w as such as to make their replace­

ment expensive. In fact brattice cloth, its m aintenance, installation and interference w ith gathering operations entailed so much expense that it w as used only where the em ission o f gas occurred in such quantity as to make the use of lin e brattice, in the absence o f any other provision, obligatory and m 'scapable. N or was the use of such brattice cloth entirely devoid of fire risk in a dry m ine where the m aterial used was o f a flam­

mable type. Incom bustible cloths w ere introduced but not w ithout increased cost.

W ith the advent of the duct the resistance imposed by the ventilation of dead-ends w as thrown on a blower provided specially for th at purpose thus relieving the main fan. It became no longer necessary to increase the water gage o f th at ventilator in order to provide for the excessive resistance of any one split. The haulageway became unob­

structed. The m eans of providing venti­

lation w as less subject to injury. A tigh t, readily repairable, tube replaced the uncertain brattice. The tube could be easily withdrawn prior to shooting and replaced rapidly. Should a roof fall occur the tubing could be 1 _oken a t some point and new lengths attached, laid over the fall, restoring ventilation promptly w ith little or no damage. The

Fig.4 V en tilatio n by

A uxiliary Fan Tubin

a n d bm g

C O A L A G E

VOL. 31, N o. 2

8

F

-30'->

S tC h u n T fto m r — * Z

f t i t o m e r Cars could be used as large as the roadway

" T t'b “cCaCr S e t t o w e v e r , that the blower capacity w as sucfi th at the distance the air could b e» ea r n e d far exceeded the distance between crosscuts. Consequen J , wherever the law allowed the driving o f the sin gle e n tiy T„d X e v o r a seeoud airw ay would not 1be neede f„

oerm anent ventilation th at airw ay w ith its crosscuts could be elim inated at a considerable reduction m cost It thus perm itted of driving relatively long airw ays by -ingle entry through fa u lts for in vestigatory purposes.

I t made i t possible to drive

between tw o airw ays wherever no perm anent ietm nirwavs w ere needed. It also gave a means of d iiv m g longer distances w ithout crosscuts, even in normal opera- tion th is being not only an economy o f dead w ork but also’ a savin g in air, for crosscuts are never perfectly StT h a s bbeena foSnd th at under pressure air w ill pass through m ost stoppings, w ill pass around the edges more and w ill leak through the roof and rib near tne

stopping w ith almost any form of construction. W her a stopping is not perm anent or a door is provided, a fall of rock m ay occur, breaking it down and short-

circu itin g th e current. Re- ducing the number of stop­

pings is therefore an economy of air, a savin g in costs of construction and m aintenance and an aid to sa fety w herever the failu re of a stopping may be a menace.

A m ovem ent is on foot, sponsored by m i n i n g men men them selves, to make per­

m issible t h e elim ination of m any of the crosscuts, now required by legislation in the development of w orking places. They realize th at the law s w e r e passed before the new method of conducting air to th e worker by tubing and small blowers had been conceived m e n the statu tes w ere w ritten the m iners had none too good air a t the face, especially w hile driving the crosscuts at the prescribed distance. B u t w ith bctte apphances available, new le g is .-tio n would be justified. J crosscuts are disused shortly a fter being driven; they weaken the roadway and often are the cause o f roof fa lls; as stated they leak and w aste the m am air cur­

rent; they collect fine coal dust to feed the flame m an explosion and they increase the resistance o f th e pas­

sagew ay to currents of air. Only in narrow roadways, where they- serve as refu ge holes, have they any value whatsoever, and even then they are deeper than is desirable and of no value if room necks are available for

the purpose. , . , , .

N ot only are they costly but they seriously delaj entry driving. Many a m ine is restricted in production solely because it cannot drive entries speedily enough to replace old w ith new w orkings. M ines have been shut down, as fa r as normal production is concerned, solely in order th a t the required development m ay be made.

Where the number of crosscuts is reduced th e speed ot development can be greatly increased. ^

W here the old system o f ventilation is used w ithout brattice cloths, the air w hen a crosscut is being driven, does not come w ith in 140 f t. of the w orking face, if 88

Tubing

Fig. 7 Air from Tubing

Scours Face

Fig. 8 Room an d P illar v/i+Vi

V entilation System

F ig. 5 Ho Air for

140 Ft.

F ig.6 ,4o Air fo r

75 Ft.

th e crosscuts are set at 90-ft. centers are^ 0 f t long and driven entirely from one direction. The a n does not come w ith in 75 ft. of the w orking face w here cross­

cuts are 60 ft. apart, 30 ft. long and are driven from both directions. Compaie th is w ith the condition where the blower is used. T he air is led by the tubing w ith in 10, 15 or 20 f t . of the face and being directed in a stream o f some fo ic e in the direction of the entry actually im­

pinges on the w orking face and thus ventilates the whole of the section oi _

the entry that the m ain ven tilatin g current is unable

‘"w ho''’shall deny the value of th is to th e w orking man? It not only gives him fresh air to b ieath e, by driving away smoke it gives him a good opportunity to see the condition of h is roof and to avoid othei dan gers. The operator is aided not only by th e Sre*te i contentm ent and sa fe ty of h is m en but also by the fa ct th a t they can return to th eir

work more speedily and can use more discrim ination in the prepa­

ration o f th eir coal a t the face.

Thus the blower and tu b in g sy s­

tem provides a perm issible m eans o f driving en tries w ith a m in i­

mum of crosscut requirem ents.

Recent developm ents in t h e operation of coal m i n e s have

made the introduction of au xiliary fa n s and tu b in g a necessity. In fact, if they had not been made available they would inevitably have been invented fo r th e pur­

pose which th ey so efficiently serve. A review of th is developm ent is, therefore, perm issible.

It has been found th a t the introduction o f loading m achinery or conveyors or both w as greatly hampered by the practice of driving rooms and draw ing pillars w hich could not be made w ide enough to give adequate tonnage fo r the operation o f m echanical d e v i c e s . E xperim ent showed that, by driving development roadways into the coal at greater distances than w as custom ary in operation by the room-and- pillar system , it w as possible to provide longw all f a c e s which could be brought back —:

w ith greater sa fety than w as attained w ith the room-and-

pillar method. , ,

If, however, these developm ent roadways had to be provided w ith crosscuts every 6.0 or 90 ft., the len gt of the crosscuts would lay a prohibitive burden on the operator. The system , m oreover, would not

conduce to the health of the m en or th eii sa fety in gas, because, in th e driving of th ese long crosscuts from th e end o f roadways 60 or 90 f t . ahead of the air, the m en would

be supplied w ith but little ventilation w here brattice cloth w as pro­

vided and w ith no ven ­ tilation w here the erec­

tio n of such cloth w as om itted. W here brattice cloth would be used the

Fig-9

D evelopm ent Roadw ays

Curicnin F ig . 10

Pairs of D ev elo p m en t Headings

Ja n u a r y 13, 1927 C O A L A G E ³⁹

F ig.il T ubing-V ervtila+ed Development H eadings

developm ent entries and crosscuts would have to be w ide and therefore in some m ines would be dangerous.

H owever, the development headings could be, and usually are, driven in pairs w ith crosscuts betw een them.

In th at event the same, or approxim ately the same, heading yardage would have to be driven, but a saving would be made in the length o f the crosscuts which would m erely connect the two development headings in

each pair and would not have to pierce the big pillars le ft between pairs. T his pro­

vision although it has m erit has many drawbacks. T h e crosscuts have to be provided w ith stoppings, and the air has to traverse every fo o t of all the development Headings, going up the first o f each pair and down the second to the entry, entering each pair in turn.

T h is greatly increases the frictional resistance and puts an increased burden on the fan which must provide such a w ater gage for th e whole m ine that this resistance m ay be overcome. It also makes it necessary to put door3 or curtains in th e entry between each pair of develop­

m ent headings in order to compel the air to travel these instead of taking the direct route. Such doors or cur­

tain s are not w ithout their own hazards. T rips run into doors w ith injury to motormen and trip riders, and men are likely to be swept from their seats by curtains and injured by the trip or the m ine rib.

W ith auxiliary fa n s and tubing, the problem takes a new aspect. The roadways can be driven w ithout n ecessity fo r crosscuts and yet w ith continuous and sufficient ventilation. Thus w ithout excessive expense all the advantages of longwall can be attained— the use of m odern m achinery, better supervision and greater sa fety . The development roadways in g assy m ines, no longer needing brattices at the face, can be made nar­

rower, i f necessary, and hence freer from roof falls.

The p ossib ility of driving single development road­

w ays also increases the speed w ith w hich they can be driven. A s it has been found th at one big objection to the retreatin g system s of longwall h a s been t h e difficulty in 4tl keeping development in step w ith coal extraction, it is obvious that

-L-

pi/larWeak

pifiarWeak

F ig .12 B rin g in g Back Pillars

by tubing rather than by the use of the m ine current and crosscuts. It is obvious, therefore, that, in the opening up of a panel there w ill be few er places to be ventilated and therefore few er faces on a split than where the coal is m ined by rooms or by development headings w ith crosscuts betw een them . The air w ill, consequently, be less polluted by smoke and, if th e m ine is gassy, less explosive.

N or is th at all. The old m ethods of ven tilatin g by cross-cuts between rooms have never been satisfactory.

It has been well understood at all tim es by m ining men th at not all the air in a split finds its w ay to the men at the w orking face. The entry is such a much m ore in­

v itin g path for it to travel than the rooms w ith their intricate detours. W ith pairs of development headings, as has been seen, the condition is still more unfavorable.

W here ow ing to the presence o f gas or excessive smoke, curtains are hung over the entryw ay to compel the air reluctantly to take the more tortuous, more en­

cumbered, less smooth and longer course, they are found always in the w ay o f haulage, alw ays leaky, and fr e ­ quently torn down. E very tim e a trip comes by they have to be lifted either by a man or the trip. Mean­

tim e, the air, grateful for the opportunity, travels the roadway and short-circuits the rooms.

T his fact is not to be regarded w ith indifference, but

Weak p illa r

it is a big advantage to have the men who are driving the devel­

opment headings relieved of the necessity of m aking crosscuts, whether long or short, and un­

hampered in th eir work by the presence of smoke.

Nor is that all, operations at the longwall face are m ost obvi­

ously m a d e more dangerous where the pillar on which the retreat is being made has been weakened to a dangerous extent by the extraction of coal in crosscuts and in paired development headings. A t such points crushing m ay result; the face m ay be lost and the lives of the m iners w orking at it imperiled.

It m ay be taken for granted th at few er development roadw ays w ill be driven w hen the places are ventilated

F ig . 13— Line B ra ttice a t Sid e o f H au lw ay I t w ill b e se e n h o w s u c h b r a t t i c l n g n a r r o w s th e r o a d ­ w a y e v e n th o u g h th e sp a c e p r o v id e d f o r th e t r a v e l o f a i r b e h in d th e lin e b r a t t ic e m a y b e q u ite r e s tr ic te d . B o a r d s n a ile d to p o s ts a n d d i r t t h r o w n a g a i n s t th e b o a r d s g iv e a f a i r d e g r e e o f tig h t n e s s a t th e fo o t o f th e lin e b r a ttic e .

what, in the past, could the superintendent or the fo r e ­ man do? He knew that the ventilation w as arrested, but he had in earlier days no auxiliary fa n to drive air to the tubing and no tubing to carry the air to the face.

Som etim es a door w as used, but th is again introduced danger. It m ight be left open and often w as, and then for a long tim e the air current avoided the rooms and coursed down the entry. Even if the door was kept closed except during the passage of a trip, the air, when the trip was passing, w ent m errily and m enacingly up the entry, less impeded than it would have been by a lifted curtain.

It has been said by m ining engineers th a t w ith an auxiliary fan there is danger o f recirculation o f air, that is, that the air is liable to go to the end of a room or development roadway and to return to th e fan to be recirculated. T hat is quite possible if th e fa n is not properly placed, but it is a m atter th at can easily be remedied and readily be observed by the m anagem ent or inspectors, for the relative location o f the fan to the room or development roadway can be noted on the most cursory inspection. I f the fan, however, is properly placed the risk of recirculation does not exist.

40 C O A L A G E Vol. 31, No. 2 I t is true the air m ay be used again in some other

place m ixed w ith air from the m ain current, but how is it w ith the old system ? I f there w ere tw enty-five places in the split, whatever air w as forced to the faces entered them one a fter another and gathered, from each, smoke or gas or both and returned to the aircourse laden w ith the fum es or explosive gases contained in them all.

W ith tubing there should be few er places and an assur-

F ig . 14— A ir D uct in a L ow -C oal O peration

W h e r e b o tto m h a s to b e lif te d a n d c o n s e q u e n tly h e a v y s h o ts m u s t be fired , a g o o d v o lu m e o f a i r a t th e f a c e o f th e w o r k in g m a k e s a r a p id r e t u r n to th e w o r k in g p la c e s a f t e r a s h o t p o ss ib le a n d s a fe . T h e tu b in g c a n b e h u n g f ro m c a p p ie c e s. I t s e rv e s in d e e d a s a s u b tle s u g g e s tio n to th e m in e r t h a t h e s h o u ld e r e c t a p ro p n e a r th e fa c e .

ance that all the air would be used in th eir ventilation.

This, surely, is an argum ent in favor of the use o f the air duct.

M ining is progressively becom ing deeper and per­

centages of extraction on development th at at one tim e were considered conservative may hereafter be regarded as dangerous, and that w ith reason. The risk o f a sudden collapse o f the roof over areas insufficiently sup­

ported by pillars has been known in Europe fo r years and has had frequent exemplification o f late in the U nited States. U nless

care is taken to re­

duce the quantity of coal removed in “first m in in g,” air blasts are likely to take heavy toll of life — a risk which did not exist when the pres­

ent laws w ere fram ed because all the m ines of that day were relatively s h a l l o w . Where auxiliary fa n s and t u bi n g have been introduced, it is possible to reduce greatly the quantity of coal taken in prim ary development and thus provide a degree o f sa fety that in too m any m ines is lacking. The old fr e t­

work o f headings, rooms and crosscuts that made the m ine a honeycomb is destined to be modified. It is true that the return airw ay and the crosscut w ill al­

w ays have th eir undoubted uses. They w ill still serve all the permanent demands of the mine, but modern conditions w ill cause them to be constructed in lessened numbers as soon as the technique of the auxiliary fan

and tubing is more clearly understood and appreciated.

T ubing also is being used as a m eans o f conveying rock dust to return airw ays, long distances from the iock-dusting m achine by w hich the dust is blown. It also can be used in fire fighting. It has been found best to fight fires directly w ith w ater, rock dust or sand rather than to extin gu ish them by sealing. A t first sig h t it would seem th at to give them air would be un­

desirable, but only by providing enough air to clear aw ay smoke and irrespirable gases so as to enable the fire fighters to advance to the seat o f the fire can the con­

flagration be expeditiously extinguished. Furtherm ore a brisk fire burns its own m ethane to carbon dioxide and w ater, w hereas one th at is partly sm othered m akes m ethane in quantity th at a flicker o f flame m ay un­

fortunately ignite, w ith danger to life and to the m ine.

W ith air supplied by a fan, work can be perform ed in a g as m ask which encum bers the bearer fa r less than oxygen-breathing apparatus.

Good air at the face m eans a b etter opportunity to note the condition o f the roof, and in th is connection the auxiliary blower and air duct are of great value for they afford assurance th at the air w ill not only go to the last crosscut but w ill reach the w orking face w here it is needed. They also m ake possible the introduction of modern m ethods o f long-face m ining, and th is has been found to be an assurance of greater concentration, hence o f better inspection and o f greater safety. The new methods to w hich tubing is such a valuable adjunct, reduces the number of men employed and thus decreases the total hazard for any given production» T hey also reduce the size o f the m ine, w hich is h igh ly im portant w here there is gas, for every open place is a pocket fo r gas and a menace to safety.

Economically, blowers and tubing are such an im ­ portant contribution to operation th at it seem s needless to em phasize th eir value. T hey save in stoppings and

in crosscuts. They economize air; they reduce the resistance to the air current;

th ey make it unneces­

sary to use a high pressure at the fa n in order to overcome the h igher resistan ces o f some of the sp lits. B y the good air th a t th is provides, th ey enable the m iner to clean h is coal more perfectly.

T hey perm it th e op­

erator to use concen­

trated s y s t e m s o f m ining thus obtaining increased production per man, reducing the area to be ventilated and drained, increas­

ing th e rapidity w ith which a m ine is brought to m axim um production, low ering the in v est­

m ent in mine housing and equipment, econom izing in rail, ties, trolley w ire, bonds and tim bering, reducing the number o f headings to be m aintained and rock- dusted and m aking other savin gs. T ubing also speeds up development. A ll th ese advantages inure not only to the operator but to mine w orker and public as well.

F ig . 15— P rep a rin g to H an g V e n tila tin g T u b in g

T h e m in e r e i t h e r u s e s th e c a p p ie c e s o f p ro p s a l r e a d y in p la c e o r e r e c ts n e w p ro p s a n d h a n g s th e a i r d u c t f r o m th e lid s o f th e s e . I n a ro o m a s li t t le filled w ith g o b a s th is th e a i r w i t h o u t a u x i l i a r y v e n tila tio n w o u ld go d ir e c t fro m c r o s s c u t to c r o s s c u t a c r o s s th e r o o m o f te n w ith o u t th e m e n a t th e fa c e o r th e f u m e s o f t h e i r e x p lo s iv e s b e in g a p p r is e d o f t h a t f a c t.

Ja n u a r y 13, 1927 C O A L A G E 41 It is preferable to suspend the tubing from m essenger

w ire ( 1 ) because it is thereby likely to have a longer life, ( 2 ) because the firedamp, i f there be any, collects near the roof and is thereby dislodged and (3 ) because the current o f air w ill not

disturb the fine coal near the floor and so raise a dust th at m igh t be ignited should a shot of black powder or an overcharge of pei’m issible blow out on being fired. In all mines, especially those th at are gassy, the fan should be put sufficiently fa r back from the point at w hich the return air from the tubing travels back to the main current that there w ill be no p ossib ility o f th is re­

turn re-entering the fan and being recirculated at the face. T his is especially im portant in g assy work­

ings. In all m ines the heading should be kept rock-dusted, at least up to

the point where the return air re-enters the main cur­

rent. The sa fety and well-being to the workers, which the blower and tubing afford should not be jeopardized by fa ilin g to provide these conditions. In fact it would be well to erect a few rock-dust barriers above the fan where g a s is encountered so as to make assurance doubly sure. The provision of such rock-dust, however, will not ju s tify overlooking the requirem ent that the fan be located properly so as to make recirculation of air impossible.

It is well to remember that all sa fety devices— and the auxiliary fan and tubing are no exception— m ust be safeguarded as carefully as the equipment or operations they protect. This is a recognized principle of sa fe ty which applies equally to every sa fety device.

Another precaution that is mandatory is that in gassy m ines the fans should be started so long before the men enter that the air in the

w o r k i n g places will be cleared o f explosive gas. Ac­

cum ulations should never be removed w hile men are in the m ine. It is also neces­

sary to arrange that the blowers be started in such a m anner that no explosive or near-explosive percentage of m ethane shall be found in the return and that no air that contains a quantity of gas that a m ine lamp will detect shall pass a blower in operation. The m ost desir­

able method o f auxiliary ven­

tilation is by the use of c o n t i n u o u s l y operating b l o w e r s , and in gassy m ines th ey should run as steadily as the m ine fan, the more so because caution may

not alw ays be exercised in rem oving gas accum ulations.

In conclusion it should be said that the baffling prob­

lem of the sa fe operation o f g assy m ines is ventilation.

We may exclude open lamps, we m ay use flameproof motors, we m ay exam ine m iners for matches, tobacco and cigarettes, w e m ay use safe explosives in perm is­

sible quantities, w e may shoot electrically and yet have m ethane fired by m e­

chanical sparks or by stray current. Then again our sa fety precautions may fail to protect us. Our flame­

proof motors may be al­

lowed to g et out of condi­

tion, thus causing an ex­

plosion ; our explosives may be used in excessive quan­

titie s by careless m iners and m ethane be thereby ignited. Mine workers may g e t their m atches and sm oking m aterials past the inspector. So the sa fest place is one in which there is no gas, and how can we get a face w ithout gas except by good ventilation? T his desirable condition, auxiliary ventilation will give if properly installed so as to free us from the p ossibility o f recirculating the same air undiluted by a due proportion of air from the m ain cur­

rent of the split. It is unnecessary to add, of course, that equipment that w ill give the necessai-y volume of air to each place should be installed.

We may look forward to further refinement of auxil­

iary ventilation. The tim e w ill come doubtless when fan s w ill be driven by flameproof motors. Everyone realizes that th is is a consummation, not only to be hoped, but to be expected and that soon we m ay have them driven by batteries so th at they will run con­

tinuously w hether the electric circuits in the mine are alive or dead, whether the w ires in the m ine fall and short-circuit or the current is cut off from overload.

B ut even now, w ith such pro­

visions as we have, we can make sa fety more certain by providing auxiliary ventila­

tion and putting the auxil­

iary fa n s w here they w ill not be approachable by the re­

turn from their own ducts.

B y the use o f auxiliary ven­

tilation we shall rid ourselves of m any uncertain and dan­

gerous curtains and doors;

by the elim ination o f un­

necessary stoppings w e shall preserve our air currents from short circuits and leak­

ages; we shall attain closer supervision and favorable conditions for operating by the use of concentration methods which auxiliary ven­

tilation makes possible; we shall reduce the number of F ig . 16— Suppose Line B ra ttice W ere U sed H ere

T h e b r a t t ic e c o u ld n o t b e p u t o n th e l e f t b e c a u s e it w o u ld i n t e r ­ f e re w ith gobbing: ro c k . I f p u t o n th e r i g h t in su c h a lo w se a m it w o u ld e ith e r h a v e to b e p u t a lo n g w a y fro m th e p i l l a r to g iv e a n a d e q u a te a ir w a y , m a k in g p i l l a r d r a w in g d iffic u lt o r it w o u ld g iv e a g rie v o u s ly r e s t r i c t e d c r o s s - s e c tio n f o r a ir . T h e a i r d u c t m e e ts th e p ro b le m n ic e ly .

F ig . 17— B low er F an V en tila tin g W ork in gs at A n th racite Mine

T h e in s t a l l a t i o n is o n e t h a t c a n b e m o v e d o n ly w ith th e a id o f so m e f a c ilitie s . C o n s e q u e n tly its lo c a tio n is r e a d i l y s u b je c t to th e s u p e rv is io n o f th e o p e r a t i n g fo rc e a n d o f th e s t a t e in s p e c tio n d e p a r tm e n t. I f w r o n g ly lo c a te d i t is e a s y to n o te t h a t f a c t a n d to o r d e r its r e i n s t a l l a t i o n in a s a f e p o sitio n .

42 C O A L A G E VOL. 31, No. 2 men exposed to hazard by th ese same m ethods; we

shall lim it the number o f places using the same air by reducing the number of development en tries; we shall g iv e the m iner the opportunity to protect h is own life by enabling him to see, in a clear atmosphere, the haz­

ards of the roof to which he is exposed; w e shall strengthen the roof o f the entries by elim inating the m any crosscuts th at remove support from the roof and by driving the headings only o f such w idth as are needed fo r haulage and effective perm anent ventilation;

we shall have pillars that can be safely drawn because they are not riddled by cro sscu ts; we shall, by stren gth ­ ening the roof support, elim inate tim bering by w hich men are trapped when trips are passing, and which is too often torn down w hen trips are derailed; by m aking unnecessary the use of m any doors and curtains, w e shall avoid the hazard of having them le ft open or torn down by passing trip s and travelers and w e shall, in deep m ines, elim inate the air blasts due to insufficient roof support. These seem to be in vitin g avenues for attaining sa fety despite m any not inconsiderable hazards.

Ha z a r d s In c i d e n t a l t o Ba d Pr a c t ic e

A uxiliary ventilation is surely too valuable a feature of sa fety and economy to be brushed aside lig h tly ju st because forsooth, we are afraid th at some m ine m an­

agers and forem en w ill, by careless installation, involve the mine in hazards resulting from th at defect.

Hazards are alw ays the outcome o f m ism anagem ent or neglect. Steam boilers for instance, blow up, if w rongly designed and erected, if the w ater in them is allowed to get too low, if the safety valve sticks or is overloaded or w eighted down, if the tubes and shell become pitted, if a heavy scale is allowed to form and so forth. B ut s^yam boilers are not discarded fo r th is reason. Care Hf taken to see th at the unfavorable condi­

tions that result in explosions shall not exist.

It should be borne in mind th at the fan and tubing installation is of such a relatively perm anent character that it can always be inspected and if not sa fe its defects can be im m ediately corrected. S afety rules can readily be determined and w ithout difficulty enforced. L et us not give up a good opportunity, w ithout a consideration o f the advantages it offers. E very new development has been hazardous at first. The railroad loc. m otive w as one of these, y et now the railroad is one o f the sa fest means of travel. Autom obiles are and m ay still rem ain an unsolved hazard, but we nevertheless continue to use them. A uxiliary ventilation seems to be of the railroad locomotive rather than of an autom obile class, a hazard, if you m ay so term it, that bids fa ir to elim inate so m any other hazards as to fit it to be regarded as an aid to safety.

I f the shoe were on the other foot and the auxiliary fan and blowers had been used for generations and some w ere try in g to establish the practice o f driving 75 to 140 ft. w ithout air or w ith the aid o f curtains and line brat­

tices, one can readily see how m any would be the ob­

jections, how reasonable and forceful would be the opposition. The old m ethods are well-known to be de­

fective! No one declares th a t fact, however, as it is true to triteness. Evidence is not lacking that under form er conditions many violations o f good practices, m any burnings and explosions have occurred and w ith them men have been afforded inadequate ventilation. The new method is not perfection but a step toward it.

Oil Nears Its E n d ; M ore Is G asolinized;

M aking Coal Future B righ t

F or the greater part o f the w ork of the world there is no su b stitu te fo r bitum inous coal. Considerable a t­

tention is being attracted at the present tim e to the exten t to w hich petroleum and its products on the one hand, and hydro-generated electricity on the other, have been displacing coal as fuel. In v iew of the increase in the use o f th ese sources of power during the la st few years, it has been easy, to acquire an exaggerated idea o f th eir relative im portance.

So fa r as the use o f petroleum and its products fo r general industrial purposes is concerned, tw o fa cts are conclusive evidence of the sh ortn ess o f the tim e during which much dependence can be put upon th is source of power. F irst, we have the recent statem ent o f the F ed -- eral Oil Conservation Board calling atten tion to the rapidly approaching exhaustion of the known resources of petroleum in our country. D iscoveries of new fields and a higher percentage of recovery w ill add to the supply but t h e , inevitable advance in price w ill check consumption. W ith all allowances for th ese considera­

tions, it is evident th a t the tim e is near at hand w hen th is fuel w ill no longer be a possible su b stitu te for bitum inous coal.

The second fa c t referred to is the grow in g demand fo r the lig h ter products o f the d istillation of petroleum for use in internal com bustion engines, and especially in autom otive vehicles. The consum ption o f gasoline in th is country increased from about 3,000,000,000 gal­

lons in 1918 to nearly 9,500,000,000 in 1925. T h is de­

mand is so in sisten t th at it w ill continue, even in the face o f an advancing price, w hich eventually w ill remove petroleum from h eatin g and steam -fuel use.— F ro m th e add ress of W a lte r B arnum , p re sid e n t, the N a tio n a l Coal A ssociation , d elivered before the In tern a tio n a l C onfer­

ence on B itu m in ou s Coal.

H igh Cost o f Custom-Made Coal

C h an gin g S creen s B efo re th e D a y ’s S ta r t

S a le s d e p a r t m e n t s a r e n o t a l w a y s a w a r e o f th e tr o u b le a n d e x p e n s e in v o lv e d in c h a n g in g s c re e n p l a t e s in s u i t th e w h im s 01 so m e o v e r ly p a r t i c u l a r c u s to m e r. T h e p h o to g r a p h h e r e re p ro d u c e d w a s t a k e n in th e n e w tip p le s e r v in g t h e N o. 6 m in e o f th e E d k h o m P i n e y C o a l M in in g Co., a t S t a n a f o r d , W . V a . I t to o k f o u r m e n a p p r o x im a te ly 45 m in . to m a k e th e n e c e s s a r y c h a n g e . B u t t h i s is n o t a ll. T h is w o r k h a d to b e . d o n e b e f o re th e d a y s h i f t b e g a n in th e m o rn in g , a n d in a s m u c h a s n o tific a tio n o f th e d e s ire d c h a n g e w a s n o t r e c e iv e d u n t i l a b o u t 9 :0 0 p .m . o n t h e p r e v io u s e v e n in g i t r e q u ir e d n i g h t w o r k o n so m e b o d y 's p a r t in o r d e r to g e t th e m e n o u t b e f o re th e u s u a l s t a r t ; I n m in in g a s in m a n y o t h e r i n d u s t r i a l o p e r a tio n s a n y d e p a r t u r e f ro m u s u a l r o u t in e h a s a d e t r i m e n ta l e ffe c t u p o n t h e m o r a le o f th e o r g a n iz a tio n . T h e y s h o u ld , th e r e fo r e , b e a v o id e d w h e n e v e r p o ss ib le .

Ja n u a r y 13, 1927 C O A L A G E 43

Anthracite R egion Prey to Labor U nsettlem ent In Fabulous Forties and Fifties*

*

V icio u s C y cles of E x p a n sio n and C ontraction in H ard-C oal D em an d T o o k T o ll o f L abor and In crea sed U n r e st o f W o rk ers— L e a sin g and S p ecu la tiv e D e v elo p m e n ts S h arp ly A ssa ile d by T rad e U n io n L ead ers

By M yron D. E dm onds

F

cite w as a sa tisfa cto ry sm eltin g fuel had been shown m any years before, and every effort w as made to in­

crease the A m erican iron trade. To th is end Benjam in Bannan, editor o f the M in ers’ Journal, had organized the first tariff league in the U nited States, and w ith the help o f H enry Clay the tariff act of 1842 w as passed.

T his afforded protection to Am erican iron, and greatly stim ulated the erection and operation of furnaces which used lump anthracite fo r fuel.

That th e w orkers received some benefit is shown in the table o f daily w ages paid in the Schuylkill m ines :

Y ea r M iners L aborers

1831 ... ... $1.00 $0.82 1840 ... ... 1.00 .80 1842 ... ... 0.875 .70

1844 ... .76

1845 ... ... 1.13 .80 1846 ... ... 1.25 .83 T hese figures are from the records o f the Delaware Coal Co., w hich paid in cash. It had been chartered outside o f P ennsylvania, and early in th e '50s ceased operating, leasin g its lands. It is still a part of the P hiladelphia & R eading Coal & Iron Corporation.

T hat conditions improved am ong workers other than m iners w as shown by a table o f w ages fo r tw o foundry and m achine shop concerns in P ottsville. Average w eekly paym ents rose from $6@ $7 in 1842 to $9.50@ $12 in 1846. The low w ages paid in 1842 are apparent from the tables, and there seem s little wonder there had been unrest. W hile w ages increased a fter that year, other grievances persisted, and a t the end of 1848 it w as publicly announced th a t th e m iners and laborers w ere about to ask for legislation to secure w ages in case an employer failed. T h is led to a m eeting o f m iners, laborers and m echanics on Jan. 1, 1849, in Clayton’s Hall, P ottsville, w ith A ndrew G. Jackson in the chair and w ith Owen M urrin as ch ief speaker. This m eetin g w as described as “favorable to the passage o f a lien law and opposed to the present order system as ex istin g betw een employer and employed in th is region.”

A nother m eeting w as held Jan. 13. Owen Murrin, Thom as McCamant, John C. Clayton and D. G. McGowan w ere appointed a com m ittee to take a petition to the legislature. T his petition stated :

(1 ) T hat ever since 1828 w age earners had suffered from speculation in coal m ining by men w ithout ade­

quate finances;

( 2 ) That landowners and speculators had united since

♦ S ec o n d o f a s e r ie s o f f o u r a r tic le s d e sc rib in g : th e r is e o f u n io n is m in th e a n t h r a c i t e re g io n . T h e f ir s t a r t i c l e a p p e a r e d in C o a l A g e in th e is s u e o f J a n . 6, 1927.

the boom years o f 1832 and 1833, to the detrim ent o f the workers;

(3 ) T hat the store order system w as then introduced, w ith prices often 100 per cent higher than cash prices elsewhere. It was specifically noted th at $14 had been

B enjam in Bannan

A t th e a g e o f 22 y e a r s t h i s m a n s t a r t e d th e M in e r s ’ J o u r n a l o f P o t t s v i l l e i n 1829, r e t a i n i n g p r a c t i c a l c o n tr o l o f i t u n til h is d e a t h in 1873. B u t h is a c t i v i t i e s a n d in ­ flu en ce e x te n d e d f a r b e y o n d th e b o u n d a r ie s o f th e a n t h r a ­ c ite re g io n . T h u s h e o r g a n iz e d th e f ir s t t a r i f f le a g u e in A m e r ic a a n d w i t h t h e a i d o f s u c h m e n a s H e n r y C lay su c c e e d e d In g e t t i n g i m p o r t a n t p r o te c tiv e m e a s u r e s e n ­ a c te d . T h e s e a f fe c te d th e i n d u s t r i a l a c tiv itie s a n d th e d e s tin ie s o f th e e n t i r e n a tio n .

asked for flour on store orders when the goin g cash price w as $6.

(4 ) That the remedy for non-paym ent of w ages, or unsatisfactory paym ent, w as a lien law, applying to the land worked by the indebted employer w hether he owned it or not, as w ell as a lien on all leases, im provem ents and personal property.

W hatever m ay be said about the remedy proposed, there is no doubt th at the grievances stated w ere real, and w hen no relief w as afforded, a genuine labor union, which would be recognized as such today, w as form ed.

T his w as the work o f John B ates, an E nglishm an, who successfully undertook to organize the men at St. Clair.

T his made a deep im pression, and he w as invited to a m eeting o f about 2,000 m ine workers, held a t M iners- ville on May 2, 1849, w ith Samuel Kauffman presiding.

B ates told o f the St. Clair movement, and advised a