M c G r a w - H i l l
P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , I n c . Ja m e sH . McGr a w, P r e s id e n t E. J . Me h r e n, V ic e -P r e s id e n t
D evoted to th e O perating, Technical and B u sin ess
Problem s o f th e Coal-M ining Industry R . Da w s o n Ha l l
E n g in e e r in g E d ito r
Volume 29 NEW YORK, FEBR U A RY 25, 1926 Number 8
Su pport Y o u r A sso cia tio n
J
UDGING by appearances, "the NafloriaTCoaT"Sssoc!a- tion is stro n g est when th e in d u stry is flourishing and weakest when it is suffering. I t is beginning to grow again w ith the advent of b e tte r tim es. B u t surely when the industry is in trouble the need fo r active co-operation to avoid u n fa ir practices and to improve business is greatest. In prosperous tim es taxes can be shouldered even if w ith a shrug, b u t in perilous years taxes th a t m ight be borne w ith o ut g rea t h ard sh ip become an in creased burden. When, m oreover, open consignm ent of coal is most ram p ant and harm ful, activity to lessen it is nothing less th a n a vital necessity. Furth erm ore, when industry uses less and less coal, th e need fo r a more active extension of uses of coal is of param ount importance.
Haslam and Russel in th e ir recently published book
“Fuels and T heir Com bustion” say th a t “an increase in efficiency [in the use of coal] of 1 per cent (from 10 to 11 per cent) would m ean a yearly saving of ap
proxim ately $1,000,000,000.” Is th is a m a tte r the in dustry can afford to pass over w ithout notice? If th a t billion dollars is saved to th e public, it is by th e same sign lost to the coal industry. One would be disposed to expect th a t the ind ustry would be h u stlin g to see if th a t billion dollars saved could be replaced by a billion dollars expended. Instead only th e N ational Coal Asso
ciation seems to sense th e d anger and is m aking efforts to meet it. To th is end th ere is re frig e ra tio n and the increase in the use of fu rn aces instead of stoves which give only local h e a tin g ; th ere is th e use of h eat fo r removing snow from th e stre e ts and sidew alks; th ere is the increased use of h eat fo r g a ra g e s; th ere are possibilities in farm in g such as g re a te r use of electric power fo r services now perform ed by hand and th e introduction of d ry season irrig a tio n and sprinkling w here now crops are allowed to w ith er and die. T here are chemical uses fo r coal th a t will m aterially aid in swelling th e production.
The N ational Coal A ssociation also can fo ste r in the public a b e tte r sen tim en t to coal m ining and create in the in d u stry itse lf a b e tte r un d erstan d in g of the public and a clearer knowledge of recognized and tested public relations.
The w ork of th e association in th e collection of tra d e d ata, in sta n d a rd iz in g them so th a t they will be com
parable, one w ith anoth er, and in fighting assigned cars, if th a t prove to be necessary, a re all p a rts of a pro gram in w hich all should assist. O ther in d u stries have learned th a t though th e re a re com petitive m a tte rs in which th e ir associations cannot p artak e, th e re a re also m a tte rs th a t a re only com petitive w ith rival in d u stries, and th ese conditions can be g rea tly b ettered by combined action. A fte r all, a common feeling of general need will m ake fo r a final resu lt favorable to all in the ind u stry.
The individual operators tend to pull ag ain st one another, and the boat in which they a re all embarked d rifts helplessly. Let them organize, let th e ir oars dip as one and all move in the same direction, and then as a result they will find th a t they will all a rriv e a t the haven they are seeking. Alas, when the waves are h ig h est and winds strongest they leave th e boat u n cap tain ed ; each determ ines to follow his own behests, and the result is th a t th ere is no progress, nothing b ut clamor and bewailing. An association is necessary or th e boat will founder in the depths of the rage fo r economy in th e use of coal th a t still th reaten s the industry.
A co-operation w ith the wholesale and retail associa
tions which d istrib u te th e product and can influence the consumer to use more coal fo r his g re a te r profit and com fort is g reatly to be desired. The men in these associations still seem to think th a t business is best promoted by energy in com petition ra th e r th an by sell
ing new ideas to the public, which, by the way, shows no inventiveness in applying the m arvelous possibilities of coal to the m any uses to which th a t fuel can be put.
Every village and city wholesaler and re ta ile r should be busy popularizing the possibilities of coal. Today the best minds in the ad vertising field are seeking ways to widen the m arket ra th e r th an to steal the business of a competitor. Let th e coal men th riv e to g eth er ra th e r than a t one an o th er’s expense.
P igs Is P igs
T
H E fam ous story of Ellis P a rk e r B utler throw s some doubts as to w heth er pigs is necessarily p ig s;and som ething of the same doubt comes up as to w hether coal is coal, w ithout such finer distinctions as modern taste demands.
A t the Coal and Coke Com m ittee session in connec
tion w ith the recent annual m eeting of th e A m erican In stitu te of M ining and M etallurgical E ngineers R. H.
Sw eetser protested th a t to say coal w as not sufficient—
any more th an to say iron ore was sufficient— th a t as iron ore was sold on its contents of iron, phosphorus and the rest, so the value of coal varied enorm ously according to its content of fixed carbon, ash, volatile m atte r and so fo rth . He believed th a t some of these th in g s a t least should be determ ined in m ark etin g coal, and th a t the consum er should know w hat he w as buying.
How im p o rtant is a low-ash content fo r m etallurgical coke he dem onstrated, and as to domestic an th ra cite, he rem arked th a t th e New E nglanders w ere objecting strenuously to buying an in d eterm in ate m ix tu re of ash and com bustible m a tte r fo r th e ir dom estic fuel con
sum ption. Considerable in te re st was taken in th is m a tte r, both from progressive and stan d -pat s id e s ; b u t a m otion to request the Coal and Coke Com m ittee to consider th is subject was ruled out of o rder by th e chairm an.
285
286 C O A L A G E VOL. 29, N o. 8 There is no question, however, th a t the objection
to buying a pig in a poke, in the shape of a ton of coal containing no one knows how much waste, is a grow ing one. There is no question but from tim e to tim e some coal has been unloaded into th e consumer s cellar a t the standard price which has refused to ignite a t all, and th a t a widespread objection to th is crudity has gradually grown up. The m ajo rity of companies who are shipping carefully prepared and good quality coal could protect themselves ag ain st these occasional buccaneers, who discredit the industry, and whom the public is given no means to differentiate, by advertis
ing th e quality of th e ir product—of the output of their respective mines. W hether a general statem ent of the average qu an tity of ash is practicable is another prob
lem—but it would seem to be one which should be attentively considered. Mines producing a low-ash an thracite, to take a specific example, should be able to command a prem ium for th e ir product. In these days no one will subm it to buying a ready-made su it of clothes w ithout try in g it on, and no m erchant will decline to discuss m aterial and fit. Indeed in the m in
eral world it is doubtful if anything except coal is ever m arketed w ithout analytical specifications.
M ark D anger L ine
P
ROBABLY nine-tenths of all the loss of life sustained a t the w orking face in coal m ines is due to falls of roof and coal. Records show also th a t th e first th ree feet of height above th e top of th e rail to all inten ts and purposes, is absolutely safe. T h a t is, in order to be dangerous a fall m ust s ta r t a t a point on face or rib th a t is more th an 3 ft. above th e top of the rail. Thus those working a t th e face of a room, heading, breakthrough, crosscut, tunnel or other mine passage need pay no attention to th a t portion of the face or rib which lies below th is 3-ft. line b ut should concentrate all of th e ir safety efforts on the upper, not the lower portion of the w orking place.
In order to im press the im portance of w atching the top and h igh er areas of face and rib s upon all those engaged in^underground work, one large company has painted a w hite line along both rib s of all w orkings w ith th e words “S afety Zone” stenciled in bold letters a t intervals below it. These lines are carried forw ard w ith the w orkings and each forem an and a ssista n t fore
m an is instructed to see to it th a t th is detail is not neglected. Inasm uch as th is company aw ards bonuses to its forem en and assista n ts on a m erit and dem erit system and he who does not have his “safety line” up to th e required point is given an appropriate num ber of dem erits it is easy to enforce th is ruling.
S afety w ithin the m ines has passed th e guessw ork stage. In order to keep a mine safe today it is neces
sary to know facts and act accordingly. M arking the
“S afety Zone” is m erely another way of im pressing upon the underground w orker th e im portance of taking no chances w hatever th a t hum an knowledge and fo re
s ig h t can discern as possibilities. The course taken by th is company is one th a t may well be carefully considered and adopted by others engaged in th e same or a like business. I t is a perfectly logical, albeit an indirect, m eans of stren g th en in g and stiffening safety m orale. I t is a so rt of “fa ith cure” in th a t it tends to focus the w orkers thoughts. And in m ining he who th in k s sa fe ty is safe.
T h e Coal In d u stry as a B a ttle G round
HAT active economic belligerency has recently been exhibited"by th e coal m iners tow ard th e owners and operators of m ines, both in G reat B rita in and in the United S tates, can h ardly be f o rtu ito u s ; it m u st be the result of common un derlying causes. To be sure, con
ditions are not sim ilar. In G reat B rita in th e pre-w ar export coal tra d e was th e fo undation of h e r commercial expansion— she shipped coal and im ported raw m aterials for her factories. The economic upheavals which suc
ceeded the w ar, in p a rt due to increased living costs, in p a rt to th e demand of B ritish coal m iners for a higher stan d ard of living and less labor, have led to fa r more effective com petition of continental European coal, from the R henish and W estphalian fields; and the consequent lack of w ork in th e E nglish fields. Now the m iners’ unions demand th a t th e governm ent take over the mines, m an u factu re cheap electric power, encourage the development of in d u strie s using power, and the rest of a beau tifu l b u t v isionary plan of state socialism; always, however, re ta in in g th e rig h t to strike.
One point w here the case of th e A m erican miners seems to resemble th a t of th e ir less fo rtu n a te British b rethren is th a t th ere appears to be an elem ent among the m iners, and elsewhere in A m erica, th a t demands governm ent operation— a governm ent operation, to be sure, which the labor elem ent will control; and this governm ent operation will fix th e prices a t which the public is to buy coal, fix the profits of th e operators, and sim ilar economic no nsense; in fac t it will fix everything but the m iners’ pay. To be sure, th e published utter
ances of th e leader of the m iners, Mr. Lewis, are defi
nitely ag ain st governm ent o p e ra tio n ; b u t a t least the strateg y of the recent coal strik e would ap pear to have been pressing in th a t general direction.
This idea of governm ent control, in G reat Britain or the U nited States, represen ts an im practicab ility of vision, a demand of labor to rule and not to co-operate, a more th an socialistic aim, a suggestion of th e doctrine of the rule of the so-called p ro le ta ria t w hich has ruined Russia. W hy the organized labor of coal m ines should take an extrem e stand is not clear, b u t it is probable th at it is due to the fa c t th a t the coal in d u stry is a key industry, capable of being used to bludgeon the public and the governm ent, and th a t th e re fo re it has been selected in form er y ears by th e p ro p ag andists of the doctrines m entioned above as a s tra te g ic ground whereupon to give battle. And it has been found to be a good vantage ground, because m any of th e miners, form erly underpaid and recru ited fro m th e impover
ished peasantry of Europe, a re still not so f a r advanced and educated as to recognize all the fu ndam en tal flaws in the conception. The coal barons of a g en eratio n ago, then, are responsible fo r th e m ilita n t m in e rs’ unions of today. If th ere be any baronial tem p er le ft among
‘ e opeiators and th a t accusation is o ften h e a rd — now is the tim e to forsw ear it fo r all fu tu re tim e.
The strug gle of the exponents of m ine-labor dom ina
tion w ithout reg ard to th e rig h ts of o th ers h as been, e Present instance, in th e U nited S tates, a losing ar u T hat A m erican capital and labor a re f a r more enlightened and advanced th a n th e leaders of m ine labor realize is evident since both have abandoned th e ir torm er contem pt fo r and exploitation of th e public and are striv in g to ren d er service to th e public in o rd er th a t each may profit by th e re s u lta n t p ro sp erity .
Fe b r u a r y 25, 1926 C O A L A G E 287
Jigging Conveyor Reduces Coal-Mining Costs
E ic k h o ff M a c h in e B u ilt in S e c tio n s T h a t A re E a s ily M o v ed — I t F o llo w s F a c e s C lo s e ly and C o n tin u o u sly — M in e rs H a v e L o w L if t and S h o rt S h o v e lin g D is ta n c e
By Frank H. K neeland
A s s o c ia te E d ito r
I
N TH E CONTINUOUS quest of lower production costs Am erican operators in large num bers are try in g conveyors. Many different types and makes of these machines have been and a re being experimented w ith. Probably the sim plest and lig h test of the varieties thus f a r tested is th e oscillating or sw inging trough type. Several kinds of these m achines are being tried out in the various coal fields of th e country from Alabama to W yoming on pitches ran g in g all the way from ju s t below the critical angle fo r coal on sheet iron to 7 or 8 deg. adverse inclination— th a t is, up hill.
One of the sim plest oscillating or jig g in g conveyors so f a r trie d is known as th e Eickhoff. As m ay be readily suspected from the name, th is is an im portation from Germany, built to m etric dim ensions, b u t th is fa c t does not deter it from successfully m oving A m erican coal.
It is a t present in daily operation in m ines located in several states, including V irginia, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. A lthough it is especially adapted to use in low beds, it m ay be employed in m easures of fa ir thickness if desired.
This conveyor is built in sections of v ary in g w idths and lengths to s u it local conditions. An in stallatio n of th is machine w hich m ig h t in m any respects be consid
ered as typical is in daily operation in th e K entucky No. 2 m ine of th e V irg in ia Iron, Coal & Coke Co. a t Toms Creek, Va.
Some of th e details of th is m achine as here installed may be seen in th e accom panying illu stratio n s.
Although i t is now being used in draw in g p illars, it may be employed w ith equal fa c ility fo r d riv in g rooms.
About 600 ft. of conveyor tro u g h can be driven from
T h e h e a d p ie c e a c c o m p a n y in g t h is a r ti c l e is a v ie w lo o k in g a lo n g th e c r o s s o r tr a n s v e r s e c o n v e y o r to w a r d th e m a in c o n v e y o r. A s m a y b e s e e n , t h e h e a d r o o m is low a n d th e m in e r s f o r th e m o s t p a r t s h o v e l o n t h e i r k n e e s . I t is in lo w m in e s t h a t c o n v e y o rs a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y u s e fu l.
one shaker engine, b u t only approxim ately 300 ft. is in use a t th is mine. This length will enable rooms 260 ft. long on, say, 50-ft. centers to be driven and the room pillar to be robbed back immediately.
In th is m ine the coal bed is approxim ately 40 in.
thick and the total headroom is about 4 ft. A consid
erable am ount of w aste m aterial is separated from the coal a t th e face. This is throw n into the gob and largely fills it. The roof here encountered is more or less uncertain in quality and requires th e use of a fa ir am ount of tim b er in its support. Inasm uch as the total length of props is only about 4 ft., however, th is tim bering is not heavy. I t consists alm ost entirely of simple posts w ith cogs employed only infrequently.
O peration of the conveyor and its application to room driving and pillar extraction a re extrem ely simple. A loading point is first established on th e heading. In order to secure sufficient headroom fo r the conveyor dis
charge the roof m ust here be brushed. The room proper is driven narrow , 10 to 12 ft. being sufficient. A fter the first few cuts have been made in th is room the shaking engine m ay be set up, tem p o rarily if desired, and th e re a fte r the conveyor be employed fo r loading out all the coal.
Two sections of chute is about th e least th a t can be used successfully. In s ta rtin g a room, th erefo re, only the drive and discharge sections would a t first be employed. The drive section c a rrie s a double fin or keel on its lower side which fu rn ish es a m eans of attachm ent to th e shak in g engine. The discharge section differs from th e sta n d a rd pan in th a t it is supported a t or n e a r e ith e r end instead of a t one end only. As th e room advances section a f te r section of chute is added until full room depth has been a ttain ed . U nder th e conditions here assumed th is would be at a depth of 260 ft.
288 C O A L A G E VOL. 29, No. &
1
Moving Along
T h is s h o w s a r e a r v ie w o f th e s h a k e r e n g in e w ith th e l o a d e d c o n v e y o r b e s id e i t in t h e K e n t u c k y N o. 2 m in e a t T o m s C re ek , V a.
T h e q u a n ti t y of c o a l t h a t th is c o n v e y o r' i s c a lle d u p o n to t r a n s p o r t is n o t e q u a l to th e fu ll c a p a c ity o f th e m a c h in e , so th e co n n e c tin g ro d jo in in g th e c r a n k to th e t r i a n g u l a r r o c k e r is s h o w n in t h is p ic t u r e p in n e d In to th e s e c o n d o r in te r m e d ia te s e t o f h oles.
A fter the room has attained its full depth a passage or breakthrough is turned from its end and driven through the pillar either rig h t or left as m ay be desired.
The cross or feeder chute serving th is b reakthrough is driven from the m ain conveyor in th e m anner shown in Fig. 1. When th is breakthrough has been completed the pillar is brought back by successive cuts taken across the face served by the cross conveyor. D uring th is process section a fte r section is removed from the m ain conveyor as th e pillar face retrea ts.
This conveyor tra n sp o rts the coal by a combination of a differential oscillation and a vertical movement.
The sectional pan carries upon its bottom a vertically curved track made of angle iron w ithin which the sup
porting rollers travel. On th e floor or mounted on blocking depending upon the desired h eight sim ilar but reversed tracks are placed. The rollers which operate between these two trackw ays or raceways are wheels
Ratchet screw prop
about 8 in. in diam eter w ith J-in. faces. These are fastened tog eth er and held to gage by a 1-in. shaft or axle extending between them . E ach p a ir of wheels therefore constitutes a single rig id roller of light w eight th a t allows the conveyor tro u g h to move back and fo rth w ith only a small am ount of frictio n and effort.
As m ay be seen in the draw ing, F ig . 4, th e shaking engine is an ingenious m echanical device th a t imparts a differential oscillation to th e conveyor by a combina
tion of an eccentric cran k and a toggle jo in t. This gives a stro n g m echanism th a t is positive in its action.
The tro u g h moves forw ard, slowly c a rry in g th e coal w ith it, b ut is jerked backw ard quickly. The tracks in which the sup po rtin g rollers operate a re so curved as both to assist in th e movement of th e coal and to take advantage of gravity, th u s aid ing th e sh ak in g engine and decreasing its consumption of power. T h us th e entire conveyor trough rises as e ith e r e x tre m ity of th e stroke is approached. Upon recession from e ith e r end of the stroke th e conveyor falls.
Coal upon a conveyor of th is kind moves fo rw ard in a series of steps or shuffles. The len gth of oscillation of th e chute as well as its speed m ay be varied by changing the position of th e connecting rod in the tria n g u la r rocker on the sh aking engine, th re e pairs
E lectric d n v e
-A rrangem ent of Main and T ributary Conveyors
C o n v e y o rs o f a t o ta l le n g th of a b o u t 600 ft. c a n b e d riv e n fro m o n e s h a k in g e n g in e . T h e re a r e of c o u rse d iffere n ce s in th e sec
tio n s em p lo y e d . T h u s, th e d riv e se c tio n fro m w h ic h c o n n ec tio n to th e e n g in e is m a d e c a r r ie s a do u b le fin o r k e e l on its u n d e r side.
T h is is p ro v id e d w ith a se rie s o f h o les f o r a tta c h m e n t of th e d r iv in g r o d o r cab le . A t th e ju n c tio n o f th e m a in a n d fe ed e r c o n v e y o r’s c h a in s o r c a b le s a t t a c h th e e n d s e c tio n s to a b e llc ra n k
Ja c k . I n th e m a in , h o w e v er, th e v a r io u s tr o u g h s a r e d u p lic a te s o f e a c h o th e r.
Fe b r u a r y 25, 1926 C O A L A G E 289
T h is sh o w s a q u a d r a n t d riv e w h ic h is p a r ti c u l a r ly u s e fu l if e ith e r c o n v ey o r m u s t b e sle w e d fro m a r ig h t a n g le p o sitio n . P r a c tic a lly th e sa m e r e s u lt c a n b e a cco m p lish ed , h o w e v e r, b y s u b s titu tin g a seco n d le v e r fo r th e q u a d r a n t h e re sh o w n , m a k in g a t r u e b e ll-
c ra n k . T h is a ls o re d u c e s th e w e ig h t s o m e w h a t.
of holes being provided fo r th is purpose. W hen the connecting rod pin is placed in the lower set of holes the operation of the chute is m ost violent and the steps or movements of the coal a re longest. Pow er consump
tion likewise is g reatest. W hen set in th e opposite extreme position the movement of th e coal per stroke is the least, as is also the consum ption of power. Accord
ingly the rod will be connected to th e set of holes th a t will give the desired capacity w ith th e least power con
sumption. In any case th e conveyor makes about one complete oscillation, fo rw ard and backw ard movement per second, or 60 “shakes” p er m inute.
As shown in Fig. 1, th e feeder chute is driven from the main conveyor by m eans of a lever and quadrant.
This device is mounted on a post jack th a t m ay be readily taken down and moved as the conveyor is length
ened or shortened. On th e last section of the m ain conveyor a chain is stretched between the deadeyes a t either end th a t serve to join adjacent sections together.
This chain passes through and is bolted fa s t to the end of a slotted lever attached to the quadrant. A cable is stretched tig h t around the q uad ran t and is fastened securely to the deadeyes a t either end of th e delivery section of the feeder chute. Lever and q u ad ran t a re free to revolve and slide up or down on the tube of th e post jack placed in th e angle between the two conveyors.
By th is means practically th e same motion th a t is given the m ain conveyor by th e shaker engine is im parted to the feeder chute. A t Toms Creek the cable quadrant, as shown in Fig. 1, has been supplanted by a second lever and chain, tran sfo rm in g th e m otion- tra n sm ittin g device into a tru e bellcrank. T his both simplifies and lightens th e equipm ent somewhat.
The pans of th is conveyor are approxim ately 10 ft.
2 in. long and overlap 2 in. at the joints, m aking the net length of each section 10 ft. The m etal from which they are rolled is 3 mm. or approxim ately I in. in th ick
ness. The cross-section, shown in one of th e accom
panying illustrations, is such as to afford large capacity and great stiffness. A roller runw ay or tra c k is p ro
vided on one end of each section only. The sections are joined together by means of bolts passed th ro u g h adjacent deadeyes. It requires only a few m inutes to add or remove a section, th e only tool necessary fo r th is operation being an ordinary wrench. A ratc h et box wrench m ight reduce th is tim e somewhat.
No m ine of any size can be worked successfully w ith a single conveyor. On th e other hand, coal companies wisely h esitate about m aking th e investm ent necessary to equip an entire operation w ith m achines of th is kind until they have dem onstrated th e ir possibilities in use.
It will be readily perceived by m ining m en th a t a conveyor of th is kind lends itself readily to a v a rie ty of applications. W ith 600 ft. of conveyor tro u g h and two bellcranks i t would be entirely possible to drive rooms 10 ft. wide and 400 ft. long on 210-ft. centers, bringing back 100 ft. of pillar upon eith er side of the conveyor. W ith a series of such rooms in operation th e faces could be eith er stepped or m aintained a t an angle
Shaker Engine
T h is is a f r o n t v ie w o f th e e l e c t r i c s h a k e r e n g in e . L o w
e rin g th e c o n n e c t
in g ro d to th e n e x t s e t o f h o le s in th e ro c k e r a r m w o u ld in c re a s e th e a m p li
tu d e o f th e c o n v e y o r’s o s c illa tio n a n d c o rre s p o n d in g ly i n c re a s e t h e m a c h in e ’s c a p a c ity . R a is in g t h i s c o n n e c tio n w o u ld h a v e a n e x a c tly o p p o s ite effect. T h e p o w e r c o n s u m e d w o u l d a ls o b e a ffe c te d in a s im ila r m a n n e r a n d in a p p r o x im a te ly d ir e c t p r o p o rtio n .
290 C O A L A G E VOL. 29, No. 8
Loading Point
In o rd e r to give su fficien t h e a d ro o m a t th e lo a d in g p o in t th e ro o f o f th e h e a d in g h a s b een b ru sh e d . T h e c o n v e y o r is b lo ck ed u p u n til its d is c h a rg e e n d h a s a m p l e c le a ra n c e ab o v e th e c ar. T h e tr im m e r m a k e s no atte m p t, to to p th e c a rs , th e m a t e r i a l b e in g m e re ly p iled u p to its a n g le o f repose.
I f too m u c h co al is lo ad e d on a c a r, so m e o f It w ill be s h a k e n off on th e Jo u rn e y to th e t i p ple. T h is sh o u ld be a v o id e d if p o ssible.
the size of th e pan and the ra p id ity or violence of its oscillation. In driving rooms or crosscuts a telescoping or extensible section m ay be placed a t th e forward extrem ity of the conveyor chute. The end of th is sec
tion practically slides back and fo rth on th e floor. This chute will dig under any loose m aterial th a t may be present, b u t its action m ay be m uch aided by men with picks who can pull down much of th e loose m aterial and 1 oH It *nt° the conveyor trough. A rran g em en ts can also be made to slew th is section sidew ise so th a t much of
^— Electric Shaking Engine
and3 theaCo t h e r Ch o i f i o n t l 7 ^ h I a lk in t f b,eaJ " 3 o r le v e r s ' o n e v e r tic a l to th e h o riz o n ta l le v e r B y a s u it a h i« t r a n s m i t t l n e m o tio n c o n n ec tin g ro d s a n u n e n i.n l a SV a b ® a r r a n g e m e n t o f c r a n k s a n d v ey o r. T h e a m p H tu d e o ? ?K0C?,tio n is im Pa r t ed to th e c o n -
o f t h is ^ b i- a tio n m a y b e a d ju s te d to s u it lo ca l r e q u ir e m e n ts
Fig. 3—Details of Trough and Cradles
S e v e ra l se c tio n s o f tr o u g h c a n b e m a d e e a c h o f w h ic h is stiff e n o u g h to ta k e th e t h r u s t o f th e s h a k in g en g in e. T h e c o n to u r of th e c ra d le s is su c h a s to a s s is t th e en g in e b o th in s to p p in g a n d in s t a r t i n g th e c o n v ey o r a t e a c h en d of th e s tro k e . T h e y th u s aid
m d e cre asin g ' th e p o w e r c o n su m p tio n
so as to give an oblique breakline fo r the roof. Room headings in such a case could be driven 800 ft. apart.
A nother improvement would appear to be entirely possible if a whole mine were worked by m eans of these conveyors. The electrically operated shaker engine weighs 4,800 lb. Hence it is heavy and difficult to move especially in th e close q u arters imposed by th in coal beds. A shaking engine driven by compressed a ir has been developed th a t weighs only 1,170 lb. and th a t takes up f a r less space th an does the electric m achine A lthough it m ight a t first glance appear to be a back
w ard step to su b stitu te compressed a ir fo r electric power, yet w here reciprocating motion is desired a ir has m any advantages—witness the rock drill. If several rooms are to be worked in fairly close proxim ity to one another, all the conveyor engines could be driven from one centrally located portable compressor installer a t some convenient point on the heading.
In capacity, conveyors of th is kind approxim ate one ton per m inute. This capacity, however, varies w ith
Fe b r u a r y 25, 1926 C O A L A G E 291 the face can be cleaned up in th is way. Usually about
four-fifths of th e coal resu ltin g from any one fall may be loaded out in th is m anner by th e machine itself w ithout any necessity fo r hand shoveling. From W yoming comes the rep o rt th a t an undercut in the face of a room has been cleaned up in 20 m inutes by the
Side View of Engine
T h is m ac h in e a s u s e d a t T o m s C re e k w e ig h s a p p r o x im a te ly 2g tons. I t is e q u ip p e d w ith a 20-hp. d ir e c t- c u r r e n t m o to r a n d d r a w s
its e n e rg y su p p ly fro m th e tr o lle y o r fe e d e r line.
aid of th is extension chute. T his gives a h in t of the possibilities of th is m achine in “n arrow w ork.”
Many of the advantages claimed fo r the use of the conveyor in coal production are self-evident, bu t th e ir relative im portance will depend largely upon local con
ditions. Thus the conveyor is low in h eig ht compared with a mine car, and the distance through which the
coal m ust be raised in order to be deposited upon it is relatively small. F o r a given expenditure of m uscular energy, therefore, a m an can load m any tim es as much coal over the side of a conveyor as he can over th e side of a car of even m oderate height. In the case of the car much energy is w asted in liftin g and low ering the body, w hereas w ith th e conveyor m uscular effort is con
fined largely to the arm s.
Use of the conveyor obviates th e necessity of laying track from the heading to the face. T his in tu rn m akes it unnecessary to brush top or lif t bottom in these passages. There is no carry ing or long-distance shovel
ing of the coal fo r th e reason th a t th e conveyor is always near th e face and consequently close behind or beside the shoveler. This sho rt shoveling distance also entails less fatigue.
W ith a conveyor the consumption of power is of secondary importance. Inasm uch as m echanical energy costs only a small fraction of the price paid fo r m uscu
la r effort, the m ine operator m ay economically be prodigal in its use w herever it can be m ade to supplant hum an braw n in m ining operations.
The combined result of all these effects is an increase in the tonnage produced from th e employment of a given num ber of m en; or, w hat is th e same th in g , the cost per ton f.o.b. railroad car is decreased. This is the ultim ate desideratum tow ard which all operators are striving. I t will not be accomplished by th e in sta l
lation of one or two conveyors. E xperim entation w ith a few such units, however, will tend to show th e pos
sibilities inh eren t to complete m echanization and th u s point th e way to cheaper coal.
O ld B eeh ive O vens A re A gain P ressed Into Service
Ingenuity Helped
S t a r ti n g on s h o r t n o tic e a n d w ith im p ro v e d m e th o d s, a b a t t e r y o f b e eh iv e o v e n s w h ic h h a d n o t b e en o p e r a te d f o r s e v e ra l y e a r s a n d a t w h ic h th e l a r r y a n d o th e r e q u ip m e n t h a d b e en s c ra p p e d , d e m o n s tr a te d th e in g e n u ity o f so m e o f th e m e n c o n n e c te d w ith th e P e n n s y lv a n ia C o al & C oke C o rp .
T h e c o a l l a r r y ( u p p e r l e f t ) a n d th e c o m b in a tio n c o k e s c r e e n e r a n d lo a d e r (lo w e r l e f t ) w e re b u i lt h u r r ie d ly in th e c o m p a n y sh o p a t G a llitz in . I t is h e re , a t th e N o. 10 m in e , t h a t th e o v e n s a r e lo c a te d . T h e la r r y , w h ic h h o ld s a p p r o x im a te ly 5 to n s , w a s b u ilt f r o m a n o ld 4 J - to n c o m b in a tio n b a tt e r y - a n d - t r o ll e y lo co m o tiv e , a n d f r o m p a r t s o f a s c r a p tip p le . N o s h e e ts o f s u ffic ie n t s iz e w e re a v a ila b le f o r c o n s tr u c tin g th e b in o f th e l a r r y , so m a t e r i a l w a s
“m a d e .” S c r a p s h e e ts o f o d d s iz e w e re c u t, fitte d , a n d e le c tr ic a lly w e ld e d to fo rm la r g e s h e e ts f o r th e s id e s o f th e bin.
A c e ty le n e c u tt i n g a n d e le c tr ic w e ld in g , a ls o p la y e d a n im p o r ta n t p a r t in th e c o n s tr u c tio n o f th e co k e s c r e e n e r a n d lo a d e r. T h e s c r e e n in g is a c c o m p lis h e d b y s lo ts in th e b o tto m p l a t e o f th e flig h t in t..« « b " r g r e e n s w e re m a d e b y c u ttin g
r e c t a n g u l a r h o le s in th e p la te a n d w e ld in g s tr ip s o f s te e l a c r o s s th e o p e n in g s, f o r m in g s lo ts p a r a l le l to th e d ir e c tio n in w h ic h th e
co k e m o v es. .
T h e u p p e r h a lf o f th e lo a d e r is m o u n te d on a p iv o te d s u p p o r t in o r d e r to f a c i li t a t e r e p a ir s , a n d c le a n in g o f th e p it. W h e n either b eco m es n e c e s s a ry , th e lo a d e r is d is c o n n e c te d in th e c e n te r , the u p p e r s e c tio n is t h a n tip p e d to a h o r iz o n ta l p o s itio n , a n d t h e lower p o rtio n , w h ic h is o n w h e e ls , m o v e d o u t b e lo w th e u p p e r se c tio n .
T h e tw o p ic tu r e s a t th e r i g h t sh o w h o w a n o ld c o n v e y o r is in s t a ll e d in f r o n t o f th e o v e n s f o r m o v in g th e c o k e to t h e lo a d e r.
T h is c o n v e y o r is one w h ic h a fe w y e a r s a g o w a s t r i e d in th e m in e s a n d fo u n d u n s u ite d to u n d e r g r o u n d c o n d itio n s . T h e s n a p s h o t at th e u p p e r r i g h t s h o w s t h e c o k e d ro p p in g d ir e c tly in to th e c o n v e y o r.
292 C O A L A G E Vol. 29, No. 8
Surface Damage and Coal Betterm ent W aken Much Interest at A. I. M. E.
C
OAL OPERATING PROBLEMS were at the forefro n t during some of the closing sessions of the American In stitu te of Mining and M etallurgical E ngineers’ 133d m eeting in New York City on Feb. 17, following the two days’ proceedings reported in Coal A g e last week. In the final coal conferences a notable report on subsidence was made by the In stitu te ’s coal and coke committee. Discussions in which coal men took p a rt covered such subjects as coal cleaning, the difficulty of removing organic sulphur from coal, the use of X -rays fo r differentiating pyrite, shooting as a cause of mine squeezes, the m ining of oil sand, and various recent developments in industrial relations.
Evaluation of coal, advocated by R. H. Sw eetser in Tuesday’s meeting, seemed to be the anim ating s p irit of the paper by A. C. Fieldner and W. A. Selvig, which formed the opening featu re of Wednesday m orning’s coal session. U nfortunately, we have had specifications which assumed a differential value fo r coals of varying quality, but we have had no scientific and carefully prepared data on which to base those differentials accurately.
It was suggested in Tuesday’s m eeting th a t th is was a problem th a t the consumers of coal, the m etallurgists, and gas men for instance, could best attack each for his own interest. Mr. Sw eetser calls not fo r general principles so much as fo r actual figures th a t will evalu
ate differentials tru ly and not a rb itra rily , and these Messrs. Fieldner and Selvig did not attem p t to give in th eir article on the “Relation of Ash Composition to the Uses of Coal.”
X - Ra y Re v e a l s Su l p h u r
Ansell St. John said th a t he had made experim ents in the use of X-rays to determ ine the occurrence of ash.
The fractu res in the coal show much in ert m atter, and the X -rays confirm the fact th a t most of it has found lodgment there. L ater Mr. St. John said th at, in coking, organic sulphur became inorganic, as could be d eter
mined by X -ray methods. X-rays passing through tru ly colloidal m atte r give a different im pression to th a t given when crystalline m aterial is interposed. The organic sulphur is a chemical p a rt of the colloid- the pyrite or m arcasite is a crystal mixed in the mass.
he A -ray differentiation is quite sensitive. When 0 2 per cent of crystals were intim ately mixed in a mass of colloids, the presence of the crystals was made clearly evident in an X -ray exam ination of the m ixture.
T. M. Chance said th a t unfortunately the w ashing of coal sometimes increased sulphur ra th e r than decreased it. Thus, a piece of coal containing 2.2 per cent of organic sulphur and no inorganic m ight in w ashing be purified of non-pyritic ash to such a degree th a t the percentage of sulphur instead of falling to 1.8 per cent m ight actually rise to 2.8. The coal in the No. 6 bed of Illinois had a high organic-sulphur percentage and in P]aces th is fact made it utterly unsuited for coking.
,, * , I Chance- fa th e r of the previous speaker, declared th a t the presence of organic sulphur was, fo rty years ago, recognized by A. S. McCreath, of the Second Geol
ogical Survey of Pennsylvania. He found sulphur for which he could find a m ate neither in iron nor in calcium
The H ay Creek coal field, some 50 m iles n o rth of Dead- wood and the Black Hills, in South Dakota, has a sul
phur percentage in places of 9.31, and none of it is pyritic. In exam inations of coal fo r coke every attention should be paid to th e presence in th e coal of organic sulphur th a t could not be removed m echanically. He pressed fo r a statem en t w h ether organic sulp h ur was as undesirable as inorganic, and got all kinds of a ssu r
ance from A. R. Campbell and Mr. Sw eetser, b u t he said th eir statem ents were largely dogm atic. He would await certainty until a blast furn ace in a tria l of several days had been run w ith coke of high o rganic-sulphur content and comparison made w ith th e sam e fu rn ace and charge using a coke w ith a countervailing p y ritic sulphur percentage.
Too Low i n Su l p h u r f o r Wa s h i n g
Thomas De Venney said th a t in th e coal of th e P o rts
mouth Byproduct Coal Co. th ere was m ore organic than pyritic coal, and the coke had the same characteristic.
He said th a t 0.40 is about th e lowest level of organic sulphur in coal and th a t any coal like th a t of his company th a t ran as low as 0.50 to 0.60 p er cent sulphur was almost beyond beneficiation as f a r as sulphur was concerned. Mr. F ieldner agreed th a t 0.40 was about the correct low lim it fo r organic sulphur.
“The Selection of Coals fo r the M an ufactu re of Coke”
was presented by H arold J. Rose. Mr. Rose declared th a t experience in the construction of byproduct ovens had made it possible to coke coal h aving 21.1 per cent of volatile m atter, as in Pierce County, W ash. Coal having 4 per cent of volatile m atter, and com ing from the P ittsb u rg h seam, had also been successfully coked. The coking tim e in the first case was 11 hr. 47 m in. and in the second case 11 hr. and 40 min.
Mr. Rose showed th a t th e carbon-oxygen ratio s gave the best division fo r th e sep aratio n of coking from non-coking coals, but said th a t th e oxygen percentage ines would be equally suggestive, as th ey paralleled the lines drawn to exhibit the carbon-oxygen percentage.
The surest way to te s t cokability was to coke th e coal.
Th e Cost of Coal Wa s h in g
“Mn, 1'i'TTC hanoe then addressed th e in stitu te on the Iount Union Sand F lo tation P la n t fo r th e P re p ara tio n of Bitum inous Coal.” Coal, A g e read ers can find a pp" 7fq 77Q of J"hls plant in the issue of Dec. 3, 1925, the ronl u Chance sh °wed by a cost sheet th a t for n n ! WaS T o i f0 r 9-64c- per to n ’ including charges
oi power at 0 9c. per kilow att-hour, m aintenance at l e r c l T 1' fiX6d Charges’ ta x e s > etc., a t 12
cost of V ? $ ° ’?00- He added th a t of th e to tal labor l a b l t w C’ Pei;,h T ’ 75 Per Cent’ or 3'6c- w as tipple washed or W required w h ether th e coal w as in? At- i was Passed th ro u g h the tipple w ith o u t w ash- likewise t ^ ° f th e re s t of the cost would tipple Thp w T SaiT f ° r a non-cleanin g , screening therefore h ° t °Pe ra tin £ cost of such a tipple would, wereef^ l t ^ ai ° i ^ per to n ' If h and P e k in g form er n +• exte n t shown as necessary in the labor COT" °h ° f the M° Unt Uni0n tip P>e> “ add*d
, re^u tin g from th e need of em ploying not
Fe b r u a r y 25, 1926 C O A L A G E 293
few er th a n twenty-five men, would be incurred, or 5c.
p er ton, m aking the cost 11.02c. per ton.
A t th e m ining m ethods session George S. Rice de
scribed “ Oil Sand M ining in F ran ce and G erm any.”
The in te rest in th is fo r coal men rests in the fac t th a t w hereas w ith exhaustive drilling 20 per cent of the oil can be tak en out, w ith th e driving of headings thro ugh th e oil sand ano th er 40 per cent can be obtained.
Perhaps all th e sand m ay be removed in some cases, b u t a t Pechelbronn, in Alsace, and Wietze, to th e north of Hanover, Germany, th e sand is so loose and th e p res
sure so g re a t th a t complete extractio n is unlikely by any method now in general use. In W ietze all th e roadways a re driven w ith forepoling and b rea st lagging.
The in te restin g fe a tu re of th e situ atio n is th a t oil has been extracted in Texas by Leo R anney’s m ethod of underm ining th e sand w ith galleries and drilling up
ward from these headings to the oil above. Pipes are provided to b rin g th e oil to th e sh aft.
The intention is to develop th is m ethod of m ining extensively, as it is said it will be m ore efficacious, especially when compressed a ir or live steam is forced into the sand. The purpose is to divide the field by driving galleries so as to cut up the oil area into squares of forty acres each, providing 132 “wells” spaced 10 ft.
ap art on each side of the square. The m ines m ay be quite deep, b u t one s h a ft is less expensive th a n a m ul
tiplicity of deep wells. I t is sta te d th a t th e S tandard Oil Co. of New Je rse y proposes to give the system a careful tria l.
Va l u a b l e Re p o r t Pr e s e n t e d
In th e afternoon th e com m ittee on ground movement and subsidence received the notable rep ort of H. N.
Eavenson on the surficial effects of coal m ining. Its sixty-five pages co nstitute a book ra th e r th an an address, and the m ining public owes th e com m ittee quite a debt fo r th is elaborate and valuable report. John A. G arcia said th a t he believed th e com m ittee should consider the effect of impact in shooting. Two companies in Illinois worked two seams one above the other, th e upper being a d rift mine w ith a 5-ft. seam and lower a sh a ft mine with a 7-ft. seam. A squeeze in th e lower m ine was followed by a falling-in of th e upper mine, and a su it was brought a g a in st the o perato r of the lower w orking.
A counter su it was bro u g h t by the latte r, alleging th a t th e squeeze in th e lower m ine was th e resu lt of heavy shots in th e upper. In fact, these shots w ere so heavy th a t they extinguished lig h ts in th e bed below. Mr.
G arcia th o u g h t shooting an im p o rta n t elem ent in roof movement and pressure.
J. B. P o rte r declared th a t th e p ressu re of plastic m aterial increased th e effect of concussions such as earthquakes. P la stic m aterial has a different wave period from sandstone, and a concussion is ap t to cause side m ovem ent. P e rh ap s th e re was a plastic bed, he said, betw een th e two m ines which had th e disastrou s experiences n a rra te d by Mr. G arcia.
C. M. Y oung declared th a t th e roof often tended to choke w hen falling, and so yielded support. R. D. Hall declared th a t th e roof could n o t fall f a r if it choked, a n d so could n o t choke except p erhap s by an infinite series of falls. M r. Rice declared th a t th e m ate ria l could fall a t th e top of th e arch of fa ilu re and roll down so as to p ro te c t th e haunches.
S. A. T aylor said th a t a c e rta in E n glish m an in earlier y e a rs had definitely s ta te d th a t subsidence did not occur if th e bed m ined w ere ten tim es as deep as th e bed is
thick. This e rra tic statem ent showed how tim e modified opinion. Mr. Eavenson said th at, in one instance, the extraction of a bed 4 ft. thick and 2,970 ft. deep had caused a m arked subsidence— 1.44 ft., or 36 per cent of the seam thickness. Mr. Young delivered an in terestin g address on th e ground movement due to a salt well in H utchinson, Kan. E ffort is being made to get info rm a
tion as to subsidences th a t occur as the result of the removal of oil, sulphur, and salt, b ut u nfortunately the inform ation as to th e area and degree of extraction makes any conclusions somewhat nebulous.
In s t i t u t e Aw a r d s Me d a l s
A t the banquet on W ednesday evening W ilbur Nelson, state geologist of V irginia was toastm aster. The speakers were J. V. W. Reynders, C. L. Kinney, Jr., J. M. Callow, T. C. Denis, G. S. Davidson, Scott T urner, and S. A.
Taylor. A w ard of the Robert W. H u n t medal was made to C. L. Kinney, J r., fo r his paper on the “Economic Significance of M etalloids in Basic P ig Iron in Basic Open-Hearth P ractice.” J. M. Callow was aw arded the Jam es Douglas Medal fo r distinguished services in the concentration of ores, particu larly in flotation methods.
W. L. Saunders, it was announced, has provided an aw ard fo r those contributing in th e course of th e year the most notable advance in th e a r t of m ining. On T hursday m orning ninety m em bers of the in stitu te drove to Bear M ountain to see th e new suspension bridge across the Hudson, which has th e longest suspended span in the world. They lunched a t the B ear M ountain Inn and late r retu rn ed to New York.
A symposium on explosives the afternoon of Feb. 17 began as a hangover from the m orning session on m in
ing methods, w ith R. M. Raymond presiding. L antern slides were shown illu stratin g the construction details and m ethod of operating an autom atic drill tem pering machine. This device will handle and tem per one drill steel every 30 sec.
Go o d Sh o o t i n g Pr a c t i c e Il l u s t r a t e d
It was stated th a t good practice w ith hand methods was represented by th e sharp enin g and tem perin g of drill bits a t the ra te of 12 pieces p er m an per hour.
The shop cost was about 7c. p e r piece, m aking the cost of sharpened steel a t the face approxim ately 10c. An excellent gage of th e quality of such steel is the am ount of work the user is able to accomplish w ith each sh a rp ened bit.
Most trouble w ith d rill steel is caused by overheating o f the m etal. Mr. S tew art stated th a t he once conducted a te st on th e tem pering of steel and found th a t his blacksm ith was tem pering a t approxim ately th e critical tem perature on a risin g heat. Checking th is m an’s work w ith a m agnet showed th a t it was practically cor
rect. An average of 18 in. of hole in th e h a rd e st kind of quartzite was drilled w ith steels th u s tre a te d while in ra re instances 36 in. was attain ed.
C onsideration of explosives was th en tak en up, w ith B. F. Tillson as chairm an. The first paper presented was one by Theodore M arvin, m anag ing editor of T he E xp lo sive s E n g in e e r. T his dealt w ith th e b lastin g of coal in th e m ines of th e U nited S tates. M r. M arvin exhibited th irty -six lan te rn slides show ing good coal- shooting practice und er v a ry in g conditions. He ex
plained th a t th e a rra n g e m e n t and loading of shotholes m ust necessarily v ary fro m po int to poin t even in the same m ine if th e larg e st reliable percentage of lump coal is to be obtained. M ost o perators have, m ade no
C O A L A G E VOL. 29, N o. 8
consistent effort to b etter th eir coal so f a r as its blast
ing is concerned.
Mr. Marvin then showed a few slides illustrating somewhat imaginatively the result, on the quality of the product, of using a high explosive and a permissible.
He also displayed a second short series showing the effect of cushioned and non-cushioned blasting.
The question was then asked, “W hat is a high ex
plosive?” The answer was th a t a 60 per cent gelatine dynamite m igh t be considered typical. Ammonium n itra te is now used as a base fo r mine explosives. P ra c tically none has a nitro-glycerine base.
Someone then asked w hat was the maximum p e r
centage of lump produced in American coal mines. The reply was th a t this depended much on th e n ature of the bed worked. In most mines, under present conditions, from 33 to 40 per cent of lump is attainable, while some operations realized as much as 67 per cent.
I t was then asked “W hat is the effect, from a safety standpoint, of using delay exploders? Do they cause windy shots?” In reply it was stated th a t such an effect was not m arkedly apparent. Practically all the ' anthracite mined is shot with fuse, th e shots neces
sarily occurring in sequence. Few, if any, explosions in bitum inous mines have resulted from the use of delays.
In Utah, where the coals worked produce extrem ely inflammable dusts, the action of these exploders is feared, yet nevertheless some delay caps are being used with good results.
Th e Po s s i b i l i t i e s o f L. 0 . X .
The next paper, on “Liquid Oxygen as an Explosive,”
by Frederick W. O’Neil and H erm an Van Fleet, was presented by Mr. O’Neil. An ab stract of th is paper will appear in a forthcom ing issue. There has been much misconception, rum or and conjecture concerning th is new explosive, its possibilities and lim itations. This authoritative treatise therefore, comes a t an opportune moment.
A t the conclusion of th is presentation someone asked w hat is the smallest plant to be had fo r th e m anu
factu re of liquid oxygen. It was stated th a t a plant w ith a capacity of 16 liters, or approxim ately 40 lb., per hour is the smallest commercial outfit now pro
curable.
Several other questions were asked and answered, this discussion b rin g in g out the following salient in
form ation: The tem perature of exploding L.O.X. is unknown. I t is believed to have a long hot flame sim i
lar in characteristics to th a t of black powder. In action it is closely equivalent to 40 per cent dynam ite although its speed of explosion propagation or its quickness is the sam e as th a t of 60 per cent dynamite. W ater form s an excellent stemming, but when used freezes.
C artridges of the new explosive can be made by any
one. About 14 in. is the smallest diam eter of c ar
trid g e th a t has been found practicable and th is m ust be fired w ithin 10 min. a fte r being introduced into the shothole. Six-inch cartridges may rem ain unfired in a rock drill hole fo r as much as 2 i hr. and still give excellent results.
In closing th e m eeting Mr. Tillson rem arked th a t it had been an extrem ely in teresting session, highly profitable from an educational standpoint to all who attended it. If th e m ining in d u stry could have as comprehensive and as auth o ritativ e inform ation upon o th er explosives as quickly a fte r they have been de
veloped as is now available concerning L.O.X. much
more rapid p ro g ress in blastin g m ethods and practice would be possible.
The group m eetin g on in d u stria l relations, held Feb.
17, drew only a few m em bers of th e In stitu te , who list
ened to a paper by G eorge E. R oberts, vice-president, N ational City Bank, on “Em ployee Stock O w nership”
and an extended recital of w h a t M itten m anagem ent has done to prom ote b e tte r in d u stria l relations on the Philadelphia Rapid T ra n s it Co., by J. M. Shore, editor of the stre e t railro ad com pany’s employees’ m agazine.
C. J. Hicks, S tan d ard Oil Co., who also w as scheduled to address the m eeting, did n o t appear.
Pr o b l e m s o f t h e Big Un i t
W ith the grow th of society fro m th e p rim itiv e sys
tem in which hum an w ants w ere sim ple and contacts few as compared to th e complex, h ig h ly specialized social system s of today, the tre n d aw ay from th e small business u n it to th e big corporation w as inevitable, said Mr. Roberts. I t req uires no s tre tc h of im agina
tion, he declared, to foresee th e day when these large units, owned by the employees and th e public they serve, will supersede th e old system of ownership of a m ultitude of small in d u strie s by m any individuals.
Most of the troubles which th e b ig g er u n it faces, continued the paper, read in M r. Shore’s absence by his son, a re due to the development of the in d u stria l organi
zation beyond th e com prehension of th e ordinary worker. Nevertheless, fundam entally th e complex or
ganization is the same as th e simple type. T he modern industrial system, however, will break down unless the sp irit of co-operation betw een m anagem ent and worker exists. The engineer, th e a u th o r pointed out, is the n atu ral m ediator betw een cap ital and labor be
cause he understands th e problem s of both sides. Stock ownership offers the best m ethod of s h a rin g th e profits of in d u stry w ith th e w orker. I t is su p e rio r to ordi
nary profit-sharing schemes in th a t it adds responsi
bility.
Mi t t e n Fi n d s Li b e r a l i t y Pa y s
Mr. Shore’s paper explained th a t M itten m anage
ment, by convincing th e w orker it w as f a i r and ready to share the benefits of improved operation w ith those who made such b etterm en t possible, had lifte d a com
pany facing bankruptcy to a dividend-paying level and had developed an employee ow nership scheme which now takes in one-third of th e common stock of the com
pany. U nder the latest scheme, recently adopted, wages are based on the purchasing pow er of th e dollar, plus a bonus fo r increased efficiency. T he stock owned by the employees, he said, had been purchased out of wage bonuses accruing to th e men. These bonuses had been based upon increased gross earnings.
A suggestion throw n out by th e speaker th a t the mine w orker was not as intelligent as th e street-car employee drew a sharp defense of th e m ine w orker by Sidney Jennings, past president of th e In stitu te , and Clarence T. S ta rr, Chamber of Commerce of th e U nited States. Doubt was voiced w heth er conditions in the m ining indu stry were such th a t a stock-selling scheme would be successful. The position o f th e m ine, beaten to and fro by competition, and of th e public utility, enjoying governm ent protection of earn in g s, was contrasted.
The ladies are tak in g m ore an d m ore an active interest in the m eetings of th e In stitu te . F o r th em a full piogiam was provided h aving no relatio n to m ines or metals.
February 25, 1926 C O A L A G E 295
An E n terp risin g Coal O p eration in A labam a
© Wide World Photoa
W ell-E quipped V ir g in ia M ine o f th e G ulf S ta te s S teel Co., a t B e ssem er
( 1 ) V ie w o f th e to p w o r k s s h o w in g a t th e l e f t th e la m p h o u s e a n d e n g in e ro o m , a n d a t t h e r i g h t th e m a in slo p e a n d s te a m - d r iv e n f a n . ( 2 ) C lo se -u p v ie w o f th e f a n s . I n th e f o r e g r o u n d is s te a m - d r iv e n m u lti- b la d e d f a n r a te d a t 100,000 c u .f t. p e r m in u te , J-in . w a t e r g a g e , w h ic h p r o v id e s th e r e g u la r v e n ti l a t i o n f o r th e m in e . A d jo in in g it, a t t h e r ig h t, is a n o th e r s te a m - d r iv e n f a n , o f a n o ld e r ty p e , w h ic h s e r v e s a s a s p a r e . (3 ) M a in slo p e a n d d o u b le f a n . N o te t h e a b s e n c e o f t r a s h o n th e s u r f a c e . ( 4 ) T h e m a c h in e in t h is
m a n u a lly - c o n tr o lle d s u b s ta tio n is a 2 00-kw ., 2 5 0 -v o lt sy n c h ro n o u s m o to r- g e n e r a to r s e t. P o w e r a t 2,300 v o lts f o r o p e r a tin g th e s e t is tr a n s m itte d fro m th e s u r f a c e th r o u g h a 680-ft.
b o re h o le b y a th r e e - c o n d u c to r a r m o r e d c a b le . A b o v e th e m a c h in e is a n I - b e a m s u p p o r t f o r f a s te n in g ta c k le in c a s e h e a v y r e p a i r in g b eco m es n e c e s s a r y . ( 5 ) C o n c re te w a lls a n d ste el tim b e r s o n t h e m a in slo p e b elo w s ix th r ig h t. A t so m e p o in ts on th e slope a s m u c h a s 15 f t . o f to p h a s com e d o w n . ( 6 ) V ie w in la m p h o u s e w h e re
a n a d d itio n to th e p o w e r h o u s e e n g in e ro o m p ro v id e s s p a c e f o r c h a r g in g a n d c a r in g f o r th e 285 p e rm is s ib le c a p la m p s . ( 7 ) T h e 2 2 -ft. ro o f s p a n in t h is t h r e e - tr a c k y a r d is p r o te c te d b y 1 2 -in . I - b e a m s s e t o n 6 -ft. c e n te rs . T h e s te e l is s u p p o r te d o n c o n c re te p o s ts a n d is la g g e d w ith r a il s a n d w ood. (8 ) L . E . R ic h , m a s te r m e c h a n ic , in s p e c tin g th e m a n t r i p w h ile L. E . G e o h e g a n , g e n e r a l m a n a g e r ( r i g h t ) , a n d W . M. M a so n , m in e s u p e r in te n d e n t, c h a t a fe w m in u te s b e fo re e n te r in g th e m in e .
