Ü O A L
McGr a w- Hi l l D e v o t e d to the O perating, Technical and
P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , I n c . n • n ? ? r
Ja m e sh . McGr a w, President Business P r o b le m s o f the JoHN. M. Carmody
Ed w a r d J . Me h r e n, Vice-President Qoal M i n i n g I n d u s t r y Editor
Volume 3 3 N e w Y o r k, J u l y, 19 2 8 N u m b e r 7
Common G round
O U T in Kansas, w h ere gas and oil con
tinually ch allenge coal in the com m on market-place, a retail coal m erchant several m onths a g o d ream ed o f a united industry which w o u ld v ita liz e flagging interest in his com m od ity by a national coal w eek. T h i s T o p e k a retailer, to be sure, w a s n ot the first man w h o has d ream ed o f a com m on d efense against the encroachm ent o f com petitive fuels. N o r w a s the particular direction o f his d ream specially ap p ealin g to th ose w h o had g ro a n e d under th e ad v ertisin g impacts o f n a tion al this-and-that week.
B U T M r . T u r n e r o f T o p e k a has n ot been satisfied w ith dream s alo n e ; he has w a n ted the action which m ak es dream s reality and g iv es life to ideas. A s a result o f his persistent cam paign ing a group o f op era
tors, w h o le sa le r s and retailers m e t in N e w Y o r k C ity A p r il 27. S om e w h o atten ded were frank ly d ou b tfu l o f the v a lu e o f the conference, but th ose “w h o cam e to scoff remained to p r a y ”— n ot because o f a convic
tion th at a n a tion al coal w e e k could contrib
ute to the upbuilding o f the industry but because th a t idea w a s subm erged and practi
cally lo s t in a b etter plan.
T
H A T plan, announced June 11 b y the C om m ittee o f F if t e e n a u th o r iz e d at the A p r il m eetin g, calls fo r the o rg a n iz a tio n o f a C o a l In du stry C o n fer en ce represen tin g anthracite and bitum inous op erators, w h o l e salers, retailers, m an u factu rers o f equipment sold to the coal industry, and the railroads.I t w o u ld be the p rim ary fu nction o f this con
ference to p r o m o te increased consum ption o f coal by regain in g lo st markets, checking fur
ther com p etitive losses and finding n ew uses fo r coal. A s a necessary com plem en t to this p urpose w o u ld be an ed ucational cam paign to create g o o d will fo r the industry.
S
U C H a p r o g ra m is b road enough to offer com m on grou n d fo r every branch o f the industry. T h a t each branch has its own peculiar problem s which must be so lv e d must, o f course, be re cogn ized . But pursuit o f the solution o f these individual problem s is by no m eans incom patible w ith co-operative effort in attack in g th ose phases o f th e situation w hich affect all. T h e m an u factu rer servin g the mines w ith eq u ipm ent and the railroad h auling the coal h a v e as b ig a stake in the success o f the industry as the indi
vid u al p roducer or retail distributor.
M
O R E O V E R , n ot the least o f the b yproducts o f such co-operative effort w o u ld be the clearer u n d erstan din g each branch w o u ld gain o f the special prob lem s o f every oth er branch. A n d w ith clearer under
stan d in g the op portu nities fo r sym pathetic and intelligent co-ordination w o u ld be greatly en larged . Finally, if the industry is to win public confidence and achieve profitable sta
bilization , it m ust h a v e w ithin i ts e lf som e com m on u nd erstan din g and p urpose th a t will ju stify friend ly public consideration. T h e C o n fer en ce idea has the ger m o f gre ater g o o d than p rob ably even its au th ors realize.
Main Street, Mahanoy City, Pa.
From ait E tching by Joseph P ennell
Are Fundamentals Being Neglected in
N
O loading m achine should fail to give satisfactory results, provided conditions under which it w orks are fo r the most part suitable. M echanical loading has now been practiced intensively for about five years, under all kinds of conditions, and from this experience has emerged an understanding of the requisites for successful operation of the machine. I f the existing knowledge, now widely scattered, were pooled and analyzed it could be so classified as to be effectual for the solution of alm ost any loading- machine problem.
Certain fundam entals have been es
tablished, and about combinations of these as nuclei can be developed a technique fo r every set of conditions were mechanical loading is prac
ticable. It is significant that where mechanical loaders yield large ton
nages these fundam entals are closely adhered to, and th at w here the m a
chines m ake mediocre showings these fundamentals are grossly neglected.
The pioneering days in this field are over. It is no longer necessary for management to feel its w ay into mechanical loading. K now ing the fundamentals and applying them wisely, any m anagem ent can make a fairly good go of it right from the start. T he elements of procedure once having been established, p er
formance will im prove w ith practice.
It is the intention here to consider some of the fundam entals of good practice and sim ultaneously to point out the pitfalls which have caused many of the failures. Strictly, the fundamentals fall into two classes:
those m ore particularly associated with m anagem ent and those m ore a part of the plans of operation.
To start, w hat is a mechanical loader? I t is exactly w hat term i-
By A . F. Brosky
nology for it im p lies: a machine for loading coal. T he m achine is de
signed for this one purpose only, and any violation of proper use, as at
tem pts to apply it to the digging of coal, puts needless strains on the mechanisms. Im proper functional application and loss of tim e due to breakdowns th erefro m remove the machine from service and lessen its productiveness as a loading agent.
T his means that cutting, drilling and shooting m ust be so exactingly executed that the freed coal lies in much the same state at the face as when finally disposed in the railroad car. No m atter how involved are the m easures fo r accomplishing this end, they m ust be taken.
A
M E C H A N IC A L loader is a continuous type of m achine and should be operated w ith few in ter
ruptions. It is not to be inferred from this th at the machine should load coal practically continuously, for while it is being moved or otherw ise made ready fo r loading it actually is in operation.
Delays due to the shifting of cars to and from the machine represent a considerable part of the time lost. In installations w here m achines are load
ing 250 to 300 tons a sh ift each in room and pillar m ining, w ith track in the last crosscut or a switch added to the room track as an alternative arrangem ent, these delays total about 15 per cent of the w orking time. In some instances this item is as high as 40 per cent. T he first given per
centage of lost time can be reduced appreciably only by the use of double track or by loading onto a conveyor.
T he taking of coal directly from a loading machine by mine cars should be considered as a m akeshift arran g e
ment. J u s t as certainly as loading m achines have been m ade to operate successfully conveyors will he applied as take-offs from these machines, and mine layouts planned to perm it of their use in this m anner. T h e tre
mendous advantage in increased out
put of loading machines operating in conjunction w ith conveyors is s u f
ficient to ju stify the additional equip
m ent investm ent, but not in a room- and-pillar layout. A s an experi
m ent, at a certain mine a loading m a
chine was tried at the face of two room s in which shaking conveyors were installed. T h e m achine cleaned up the two places, loading 16 tons in 10 m inutes, including m oving and other delays. Avoidance of car- shifting delays is a fundam ental which has been m astered by few.
M
U C H tim e is w asted w aiting for the delivery of em pties from the tipple. In going over tw enty time studies of loading machines operating under a wide range of conditions the w riter found th at the average time lost w aiting for trips was 11 per cent of the shift, the greatest loss on this account being 30.2 and the least 3.9 per cent. T he average loss of time w aiting for trip s at a certain mine where mechanical loading has beenJuly, 1928 — C O A L A G E 407
particularly successful is 6.9 per cent o f the shift. These delays largely are inexcusable.
Delays due to inadequate prepara
tion of coal for the loading machine m ount up to large totals in many in
stances. Tim e studies of a loading machine over a period of 64 shifts at one mine showed that the machine was idle 22 per cent of the average sh ift because the coal had not been properly prepared. T his figure is unusually high, granted, but it is not uncommon to find time losses of 5, 10 and 15 per cent on this account.
Miscellaneous delays— low voltage, poor track, breakdown of the m a
chine due to careless handling and m aintenance, etc.— may not detract much, individually, from the produc
tiveness of a machine but altogether m ay considerably lower the efficiency.
W here m anagem ent is alert these delays are largely avoided. Constant attention to upkeep is fundam ental.
N
O F A C T O R contributes more to the success or failure of mechanical loading than does the plan of working. So far, nearly all loading machines other than those of the scraper type have been applied to room -and-pillar mining. N everthe
less, despite beliefs to the contrary, the w riter hazards the opinion that the m ost prom ising possibilities of success in mechanical loading gen
erally lie in longface m ining. Sim plicity of operation is a fundam ental upon which only longface m ining is based. T he room -and-pillar system is too complicated by reason of the fact that a relatively small tonnage is gotten from each cut, necessitating much moving about. H ow ever, where th e seam is unusually thick and p er
mits driving fairly wide places this disadvantage is not so pronounced.
T h e longface system is viewed w ith much trepidation because it is felt that the roof over the faces is difficult to control. T his fear is proof that an im portant fundam ental of mechanized mining is not fully appre
ciated — namely, th at the difficulties o f roof control dim inish as the speed o f recovery is increased. Open-end m ining o r slabbing of relatively large square-block or rectangular pillars will be common practice not many years hence. T his system has been followed fo r about five years in a loading-machine installation which the w riter looks upon as one of the m ost successful in the country, nam ely that of the Gay Coal & Coke Co., in Logan County, W est V ir-
ginia. Day a fte r day, and year afte r year, an output of over 200 tons a shift per machine, double-shifted, has been produced at this mine.
T o state that w orking places should be concentrated fo r mechan
ical loading may savor of trite ness, yet the widespread neglect of this fundam ental justifies its con
sideration here. W ork ing places in which loading machines operate are scattered m ore often than not. Quite frequently m ore places are allocated to a machine than it is capable of cleaning up during a shift. T he extra places are assigned as reserves to meet the contingency of certain of the total num ber not being-prepared properly o r at all. In a nicely bal
anced system a cut is taken from every w orking place every day, bar
ring unusual circum stances. A clean
up schedule fo r w orking places is as basic in machine as in hand loading.
M echanical loading calls fo r a higher degree of science in m anage
ment. T h e outcome usually is de
cided by the attitude of management^
in the earliest days of the undertak
ing. I f m anagem ent is lax and superficial in its m ethods mechanical loading m ust surely fail. W here negligence and carelessness in the carrying out of orders are tolerated the undertaking quickly goes to seed, the good w orkers become discouraged and m anagem ent is faced w ith a situation much m ore try in g than at the start. T he best of talents should be set to the task of directing the operation. T h e employment of any Tom, Dick o r H a rry to guide the w ork is common and has resulted in m any a failure. A nalytical thinking, resourcefulness, aggressiveness and initiative are fa r m ore necessary in mechanical than in hand loading.
O rders and plans fo r the execution of the w ork m ust be set up in specific form , and uncalled-for transgression o f any of these m ust not be allowed.
T hey cannot be form ulated in detail by men who stick close to the office, fo r in th at case they are likely to be
faulty. T hose in charge of the work should spend m ost of their time on the job, fo r direct control and re
sponsibility are prim e necessities.
A
W A R N IN G is here sounded against the danger of misapplication of the principle of func
tional control to mechanical loading.
W h ere schemes of highly ramified functional control have been tried in the early stages of mechanical load
ing they have proved to be more of a handicap than of an advantage.
Functional control means control through experts, one for each classi
fied group of details relating to oper
ation. Few , if indeed any, experts in m achine loading have yet been devel
oped. W h ere functional control is attem pted it should be confined with
in the shadow o f the plant—that is, the agents should spend most of their time at the w orking place and there devise m ethods and develop their duties. O nly in this way will they attain expert knowledge, for close contact w ith an operation is essential to full appreciation of the problems.
A
C O M P A N Y operating a number of m ines loses rath er than gains by attem pting to apply mechanical loading to several plants simultaneously. I t is better to concentrate all m achines and m anagerial efforts to one plant until such time as units progressively dem onstrate their ability to carry on successfully.
A stum bling block to progress in machine loading is the toleration in m anagem ent of m en in any measure of authority relative to the operation who are not sym pathetic. Sometimes when they do not openly voice their opposition their interest is only pas
sive, which is equivalent to condem
nation in its effect on the morale of the organization. T hough they may not deliberately hinder progress cer
tainly they do not contribute to it.
Success requires not only intelligent m anagem ent o f the immediate job but th e enthusiastic co-operation of the entire organization.
W H E R E T H E H IG H E R O FFIC IA LS and the general office are remote from the operation, as is frequently the case in coal mining, a high degree o f decentralized control is essential. Other
wise red tape crops out to slow down execution, scatter authority and responsibility and bring about chaos. T he men in charge of individual plants should be so capable that the management- is willing to vest in them the requisite authority for getting things done. M echanical loading has emphasized the desirability o f this arrangement.
408 C O A L A G E — Vol.3 3 ,No.7
What Is the Matter
With Illinois?
By Oscar Cartlidge
Consulting Engineer, C harleston, IV. Va.
¿ T L E A S T four m ajor changes l \ are necessary if Illinois mines i. A .a re to compete successfully against Southeastern non-union coal.
The first of these is relief from the burden of surface support which would make it possible to recover all the coal in the ground. T his m ust be arranged between the farm er who owns the land and the lessee.
The mines of Illinois recover, ex
cept where the coal is thin, not much more on an average than 50 per cent of the coal in the ground. By ob
taining nearly 100 per cent, which is possible, the operator will double his coal reserves and the lessor will double his available royalties.
Coal in the central and southern parts of the state has an average thickness of 7 ft.— much of it is 9 to 14 ft. thick— and an acre of 7-ft. coal will contain about 12,000 tons. If 6,000 tons is the present recovery, another 6,000 tons is available and should be saved. Royalty rates are from 3 to 10c. a ton, 5c. being a fair average. T his ex tra 6,000 tons at 5c. equals $300 an acre to the lessor.
C C A R C E L Y a fa rm er in Illinois kJ but will take a chance on damages to his surface property fo r $300 an acre if he can be shown, as is entirely possible, that regular and practically complete extraction of his coal will damage the surface little, if any, for farming purposes. U nless existing 'eases are revised, the lowest possible mining costs cannot be attained.
The second requirem ent is the elimination of the existing law which demands that crosscuts between rooms and entries be driven a t every 60 ft.
°f advance. In 1910-11 I assisted in an advisory capacity in the revision of me Illinois m ining law s; I well re
member how strenuously the m iners on the committee objected to increas- that much-debated distance. T he
1928 — C O A L A G E
operators finally arranged for its ex tension where entries had to be driven around the shaft bottom.
O ther states, notably Pennsylvania, w ith m ore gas, made crosscuts less frequently, but our m iners saw the m atter not alone as a safety measure.
T o them it appeared th at the shorter the distance the m ore the yardage for narrow work. In those clays we did not have the present im proved means for providing ventilation, and per
haps it was as well that the m iners took the stand they did.
B
U T now there is no excuse, for w ith flexible tubing, places are being driven w ithout crosscuts yet w ith perfect safety and com fort. W e hear much about the danger from electrically driven fans, but perm issible m otors can now be had that can be used w ith safety. H ow unreason
able it is to contend that electric fans and flexible tubing are safe if pro p erly located but that they should not be used because the m an in charge m ight place them so that the air would be recirculated over the motor, and because m otors m ight be pro
tected but starters m ight not be and so fo rth !
F an s and m otors can be properly
located and protected, and the m an who will not do so will fail also to keep line brattice or other ventilators up to the face and in safe condition.
Such men should not and will not last long when operators and m iners both get completely in earnest about safety.
T he present Illinois laws, I be
lieve, give the D irector of M ines a certain latitude as to the distance be
tween crosscuts, up to 250 ft., but this is not in all cases enough fo r the economical extraction o f the coal.
T he m ining departm ent should have full discretionary powers. T hen large pillars m ay be blocked out and extracted w ithout having the coal crushed to dust by the w eight of the roof. W ith a strict compliance with Illinois law the pillars will be, at best, 60 ft. square, which is entirely too small. W ith crushed pillars there will be fines and lower selling prices.
F o r m ining costs, thicker pillars are essential.
T
H E third im portant change needed is the abolition of the system of paying yardage fo r narrow w ork. This practice originated before machines w ere available. Then a m an driving a narrow place and shooting off the solid was at a disad
vantage as com pared w ith a m an in a room who had little, if any. pick w ork to do. U n der such circum stances the entry man, who had to cut his place and necessarily could not load as much coal, was entitled to ex tra compensation, which was al
lowed to him in the form of yardage.
W here the coal is mined by m a
chine it is about as easy to load coal in narrow places as in wide, yet the practice of paying fo r yardage has persisted to the present time, though now no coal is shot off the solid. P os
sibly an entrym an m ay have to do m ore drilling and use m ore pow der
409
than one who w orks in a room, but for this he should receive a rate per ton 5c. higher than in rooms, as is custom ary in other places.
T he yardage cost in Illinois is w ithout justification. M ost of the mines have entries 9 to 12 ft. wide, and the top coal is left up for roof protection. Conditions fo r loading are ideal; the height is am ple; no tim bering is needed ; no w ater re quires handling, and every part of the coal face is near the car.
W h y should the loader be given a high premium for loading in such places, thus adding considerably to the cost of properly developing a m ine? Y ardage . prices m ust be abolished if the engineer is not to be unduly ham pered in the projection of his w orking plans.
L
A ST , but not least in im portance,^ the m iner m ust give up his op
position to mechanical contrivances for loading and conveying and m ust co-operate with the mine ow ner by every m eans in his power to make the operation of such m achinery a suc
cess. T o do this he m ay even have to give up the piece-work system and w ork on a day-wage basis, for only by such changes can he ever hope to enable his employer to compete with low wages w ithout reducing his own rate of pay.
Illinois m iners are not getting too much for a day’s w ork, but they need not hope to m aintain the present scale against one scarcely m ore than half as large unless they will mine coal in such greater quantities per m an as will offset the difference in pay. T his can be done if every man will do his best to aid in m aking mechanization successful.
T h e coal fields of Illinois are u n usually well suited fo r mechanical mining, and the old-time w orking m ethods imposed by precedent no longer pay. M odern ideas m ust be welcomed and not alone tolerated ; they m ust be m ade effective by the active co-operation of both employer and miner.
E
X C E P T in a fèw instances the high-volatile fields of W est V irginia and eastern K entucky do not have such favorable conditions for economical mechanization. M ost of the coal is thin in those fields, and usually has one or more bands of slate or bone which m ust be hand- picked if the product is to be ren
dered salable. T he mountains also press so unequally on the coal pil- 410
W h a t Illin o is M ines M u st H av e
- 1 -
D eeds p e rm ittin g recovery of all coal from g ro u n d
-
2
-R ep eal of u n d u ly restrictive crosscut legislation
- 3-
Release fro m u nreasonable charges for n a rro w w o rk
- 4 -
C o-operative sp irit in relation to m ech an izatio n
lars that the roof in W est V irginia and eastern K entucky is controlled with more difficulty th an in Illinois.
T hen too, there usually is a draw - slate' which comes down and mixes with the loose coal, all of which mili
tates against the loading of this coal by machinery. In Illinois only the blue band and an occasional sulphur ball have to be picked out of the coal.
If the top coal is left to be recovered when the pillars are retreating, no roof slate will be mixed with the coal and the m achine can load without interference. T h e roof is good and so is the bottom, and the coal is high enough fo r the operation of any type of loader. T h e coal seams are flat and the surface likewise, and the overburden is of equal thickness.
Use of Pulverized Coal Is Growing
Im provem ent in the burning of coal which will make it less laborious to handle, m ore easily stowed in ship bunkers and more efficient in opera
tion will make it a stronger com
petitor w ith oil. F o r this reason the N ational Coal Association has pub
lished a booklet w ritten by H . W . Brooks on “Pow dered Coal and the Coal In du stry .”
In 1924 the consum ption of pow
dered coal was 16,000,000 tons, dis
tributed am ong industries approxi
mately as follows:
Manufacture of Tons Per Cent
Portland cement... 6,000,000 37.5 Iron and steel... 3,000,000 18.8 Copper... 2,500,000 15.6 Power... 3,500,000 21.9 Other purposes... 1,000,000 6.2
Today the Am erican totals prob
ably reach 25,000,000 tons, or about 5 per cent of the entire bituminous coal production. T he following table on fuel consum ption fo r various types of furnace may prove useful as show
ing savings in use of pulverized coal and the tem peratures attained in the furnace :
Coal S a vin g s and Tem peratures with Various Furnaces
Pulver
ized
Hand Coal
Fired per Average
Coalpe- 22,740 Working 2,240 Lb. Lb. of Tcmpera-
of Metal ature
Metal, Lb. Lb. Deg.
Type of Furnace , , 7n
Reheating for steel.. 710-1,220 634
R e h e a t i n g , f o r . ,80
wroughtiron 762 538 .
Puddling iron 2,545 ' 425
Busheling 815 478 538 *
Mm i t e le . . i.r.0 n : 846 625 >.600 Maani»Unge ..i.r.0n: 1,515 405-657 l.0g
Sheetandpair 336-542 \ nnO
Sheet annealing. . . . 426-561 [?6-224 1*600 Open hearth 497*-825* 457-533 ,6W Small forge... 3 » '4 00
Galvanizing 379 MJJ . 100
Rod-heating 810 427
Continuous reheat- . , 150
in*... 2I9;« ° ,23$ 4
Ttotary eeiiienVkiiiis ,.?78
Caustic pot furnaces 1,000 o il •
Steam boilers 60j-75t 85 ]\”
* Producer gas fired. + Thermal efficiency m cent.
I n th e A p r il is su e o f C oal A g e , PaS 211, it w a s s ta te d t h a t th e L .O .X . p a' of th e N o r to n C o al M in in g Co. w in s ta lle d b y th e K e ith D u n h a m Co., M ilw a u k e e . T h e a d d re s s of the la c o m p a n y is 110 S o u th D earb o rn ■>
C h ic a g o .
C O A L A G E — Vol.33,No.7
Sizing Up the
T i m b e r P r e s e r v a t i o n
Problem
By L. D. Tracy
Consulting E ngineer P ittsburgh, Pa.
M
UCBI of the tim ber in all mines is continually arriving at such a state of deterioration from decay that it is no longer serviceable and m ust be replaced.
Consequently, the production costs will be materially reduced if the tim ber is preserved by chemical tre a t
ment.
With a success th at has varied ac
cording to the degree of system atic control and to the correctness w ith which they have sensed the proper methods of treatm ent, both coal- and metal-mining companies have experi
mented in the perservative treatm ent of timbers, using several different methods of accomplishing th a t end.
Doubtless erroneous conclusions, u n favorable to the use of treated tim ber for mining purposes, have been draw n from these tests.
It is doubtful if m any m ining offi
cials take the trouble to figure in dol
lars and cents ju st w here treated timber should be used.
In this article I purpose to present some of the conclusions I have de
rived from a com prehensive study of mine-timber preservation m ade under a co-operative agreem ent between the
U . S. B ureau of M ines and the C arnegie In stitute of Technology*
in so far as these results concern the prelim inary work which should be done by any m ining company which contemplates the extensive use of treated mine timber.
T T S H O U L D be borne in m ind that
JL
the tim ber-preservation problems of the mine operator differ in m any respects from those of other users of treated tim ber. These differences should be appreciated especially by those who are connected w ith the wood-preserving industry— either as operators of commercial treating plants, m anufactu rers of preservatives or designers of tim ber-treating installations— because a type of tre a t
m ent used fo r tim ber intended for surface structures m ight not be suit
able for tim ber fo r underground purposes.
T his is due to at least two elements which are to be found, in m ost un
derground workings and which are absent in practically all other opera
tions involving the use of treated
♦B ulletin No. 33, "C o -o p erativ e M ining In v e s tig a tio n s — M ethod a n d C o sts o f T r e a t
ing- M ine T im b e r: 'W hat to T r e a t a n d W h a t U f e to E x p e c t," b y L. D. T ra c y a n d N . A.
T olch. C a rn eg ie I n s titu te o f T echnology, P itts b u rg h , P a . ; 192T.
tim ber: (1 ) T he indeterm inate and varying length of tim e the operator desires the tim ber to last; (2 ) the unknown and almost incalculable stresses which ground m ovem ent and the pressure and w eight of the over
head strata may impose on the timber.
A s regards the first o f these ele
m ents the norm al user of treated tim ber knows the conditions under which he expects to use it; in nearly every case the length of life desired is theoretically perpetual. T h a t is to say, if the treated tim ber is to be used in a railroad trestle, its desired life would be th at o f th e railroad itself, which m ay fo r all practical p u r
poses be considered perpetual. T he longer the life of a railroad tie, the better. S tructural tim bers are ex
pected to last for an indefinite period.
O n the other hand, th e desired length of life o f a mine tim ber is problematical, depending purely upon conditions best understood by a m in
ing engineer.
T
H E second o f these elements is the cause of the destruction of m any mine timbers. In nearly all other uses of tim ber, w here its long life is desired, the stresses to which it will be subjected can be closely estimated. F o r example, if th e tim ber is to be used as a beam, th e live and dead loads it is expected to carry are known and the proper dimensions for carrying that load can be calculated.
O r if it is to be used as a sill fo r a building, the weight which it will have to support is constant, and it is a simple m atter to select a tim ber of the necessary size.
But this is not so tru e fo r u nd er
ground tim bers, because a sudden change in roof conditions may bring an unexpected pressure which the tim ber cannot w ithstand and which so splits and crushes it th at the effect of the preservative treatm ent, unless O N E C A N R A R E L Y E X P E C T to m ak e a profit f ro m
preservative t r e a tm e n t in the first few years, f o r th e old timber in the mine will keep on failing a n d have to be replaced by new. U n t i l all th e old has been discarded, the full value o f the t r e a tm e n t m eth o d s will n o t be felt. P r i o r to t h a t time b o th tim b er a n d t r e a tm e n t costs will be high.
H ow ev er, th e o p e r a t o r m ay save by the use of c h eap er woods, g e ttin g th e perm anen ce o f m o re d u rab le m a te ria l by the ad d itio n o f p rese rv ativ e .
■Tv, 1928 — C O A L A G E 411
it is especially thorough, may be de
stroyed. O r the normal pressure may be so great that even untreated tim ber will fail from fracture before it will fail from decay. H ow ever, tim bers are often weakened by decay and then fail from fracture. This, of course, can be prevented by proper preservative treatm ent.
It is highly desirable, therefore, for any m ining company which is con
tem plating the introduction of the use of treated tim ber to employ an engineer who is thoroughly con
versant with the principles of tim ber treatm ent and also with the m odern practices and methods of m ining to make a study of the problem as it concerns that particular m ining com
pany, in order to recommend the method of tim ber treatm ent which is best adapted to the conditions found.
H e should report also upon the prob
able savings, in dollars and cents, if any, which m ay be expected from thé use of treated tim ber, and where in the mine its use would be justified and w here it would not.
T
H E R E is a time limit which can be determ ined with a fa ir degree of accuracy w ithin which the use of treated tim ber would be uneconomical but beyond which money can be saved by its use. M orover, tim bers
fo r which a long life is desired re
quire one type of treatm en t while those whose desired life is com para
tively shorter may be effectively treated in a different m anner and at a less cost.
D ifferent kinds of preservatives m ay be better adapted to different conditions: F ire hazards m ust be
considered, the solubility and life of a preservative in running w ater, the gases which may be given off by a preservative at the time of a mine explosion or mine fire— all should be fully considered.
By a thorough exam ination of the mines which will take into account the anticipated annual tonnage, the life of the producing property, the characteristics of the roof, the haulage system used and the method of m in
ing practiced, the best results from the use of treated tim ber can be planned.
A
M IN IN G executive who decides upon a policy of tim ber preservation, especially where the replacement of old tim bers in existing w orkings is contemplated, m ust realize in the be
ginning that little definite saving in his tim ber bills will immediately ap
pear. In fact he should not be sur
prised to have, at first, some increase in cost because of the additional charge due to the operation of tire treatm ent plant or to the higher price o f treated tim ber, if such tim ber is purchased in the open m arket.
T he actual saving in the cost of tim ber per ton of coal mined may not begin to show fo r several years, or until the dem and for new tim ber to replace old tim ber which has failed
because of decay commences to de
crease.
How ever, the yearly saving can be determ ined w ith a considerable degree of accuracy by one fam iliar w ith the conditions in a mine which are favor
able for decay. As an example, as
sume that two entries o r d rifts, each supported w ith the same kind of tim
ber w ith the exception that in one case it has been properly treated and in the other is untreated, have the same atm ospheric conditions. Also assume th at the tim ber sets in place cost $25 each for the treated sets and
$18 each fo r the untreated, and that untreated tim ber in these entries or d rifts has heretofore lasted but two years, w hereas experience has shown that under sim ilar conditions properly treated tim ber will last twelve years.
W ith an interest charge of 6 per cent, the annual carrying charge for the untreated sets will be $9.81 and for the treated sets $2.98 each, or an annual "saving of $6.83 for each set. O n 150 sets this would amount to $1.024.50 annually and $12,294.00 in 12 years, the expected life of the treated timber.
It is not improbable, however, that a few of the treated sets will not last twelve years because of defective tim
ber or im proper treatm ent and there
fore will have to be replaced. The ex tra cost involved, however, will be m ore than balanced by the additional cost of replacing untreated timbers.
It generally is m ore expensive to re
move old tim bers and substitute new ones than it was to place the timbers originally.
T
H E R E F O R E , mining executives should not conclude that tnine- tim ber treatm ent is not an economy because no visible saving is shown the first, second or even the third year a fte r the practice has been adopted.N o r m ust the m istake be made of adopt
ing a half-hearted policy of timber preservation. T reated timber should not be placed here and there in a mine haphazard w ithout definite knowledge as to the type of treatm ent, the kind of tim ber treated, its condition before treatm ent or the particular use to which it has been put. No wonder that some who have undertaken the practice so unsystematically and pur- sued it so unscientifically have aban
doned it in a year or two because a big saving in money has not been e v id e n t!
No mine operator would rightly pronounce judgm ent upon the success o r failure o f electric power for mine haulage from observing the perform
ance o f a system of poorly bonded rails, patched-up m otors and badly insulated power lines.
T he same principle holds true for an installation of treated mine tim
ber. A stick m ay fail because it " aS treated when unseasoned, thus pre' venting the penetration of the pre' servative, or it may fail because it has T I M B E R I N G I N M I N E S is in tended to be p e rm a n en t,
se m i-perm anent o r im p e rm a n e n t a n d should be tr e a te d e ith e r th o ro u g h ly , surficially o r n ot a t all, a ccording to needs. W h e r e tim b er is in ten ded to be set in r e tu r n air a n d is likely to be scrap ed by d erailed cars, by augers, bars, picks o r machines, to hav e spikes driv en into it o r to be struck by flying coal o r rock, it should be t r e a te d in the m o st com plete m an n er. A ll tim b er in tra v e le d ro ad w ay s is liable to be thus misused, a f t e r which it will give lo d g m e n t to spores a n d decay will result. P o s ts which become crushed, tw isted o r split afford access to the in te r io r o f th e w o o d w he re the tre a tm e n t m ay n o t have reached. T h u s the fungus will feed w ith con te n tm e n t on the unpoisoned layers in the h e a r t o f the stick.
412 C O A L A G E — Vol.33,No-7
ken so trimmed and cut a fte r tre a t
ment that the effect of the preserva
tive almost has been nullified. Such failures should not be criterions by which to judge the perform ance of well-seasoned and properly treated wood. Even the m ost surficially treated timber, if the treatm ent has been properly done and the timber handled with ordinary care, should show some good results.
During the investigation, to which previous mention has been made, I either personally inspected the treated timber in nearly all the coal and metal mines in which it had been used or received inform ation concerning it from reliable sources. T he lack of definite data relative to the method and cost of treatm ent, the length of life of treated tim ber placed under
ground and the com parative value of treated and untreated tim ber was noticeable. T his was especially true of the data obtained from some of the smaller companies which had p u r
chased timber from commercial tre a t
ing plants and had placed it in the mine, no one knew w here or when.
This practice may do an injustice to the use of treated tim ber, because it will possibly lead to the conclusion
“Oh yes! we placed some treated tim ber in our mine, but it did not cut our timber costs, and we do not think it pays,” thus “ dam ning w ith faint praise” a practice th at is really w orth while when properly perform ed.
T
IM B ER treatm ent, w hether at coal or metal mines, should be conducted in a system atic m anner, under the supervision of some one who is thoroughly in sympathy w ith it and who is satisfied w ith its efficiency and consequent economy. A strong argument fo r this recom men
dation is that the average tim berm an lacks a knowledge of the principles involved in tim ber preservation. In Tact, such a knowledge is not to be expected, for tim ber preservation is to a certain extent a specialized in
dustry and m ining operations have hut rarely practiced it.
It is a well-established fact that the sole cause of the decay of tim ber is the action of certain fungi which use the woody substance as a food supply.
Jf that food can be poisoned by the Mpregnation of toxic, chemicals, the fungi cannot live and therefore the timber will not decay.
When the wood is properly treated, the preservative form s a toxic seal which should envelop the entire tim - her- If this seal is broken, as it may be by cutting, trim m ing, bruising or
F
U N G U S n e e d s f o r p ro lific g r o w th d a m p a ir w i th p le n ty o f ca rb o n d io x id e . T h e r e tu r n c u r r e n t s u p p lie s th o se c h a ra cte ris tic s f a r m o r e g e n e r o u s ly th a n th e “ in ta k e air, f r e s h f r o m th e s u r fa c e ” o f th e m in in g lazv. S o care s h o u ld be ta k e n e ith e r th a t r e tu r n a ir be no m o r e c o n ta m i
n a te d th a n is n e c e s sa ry o r th a t it tr a v e l b u t a s h o r t d ista n c e t h r o u g h tim b e r e d roadzvays.
M a n y m in e s th a t h a v e m a d e s u c h p r o v is io n s h a v e g r e a tly r e d u c e d th e ir tim b e r costs. T im b e r p r e s e r v a tio n can be p u r s u e d in tzvo d ir e c tio n s : ( 1 ) b y r e m o v in g co n d itio n s, fa v o r in g tim b e r d ec a y a n d ( 2 ) b y m a k in g tim b e r r e s is t
a n t to su c h in flu e n c e s.
perhaps by spiking, a non-poisoned surface is then exposed which will offer a feeding place to fungi and a point of consequent decay. Spores also may enter mine tim ber by checks and cracks caused by ground move
ment or the abnormal roof pressure resultant on the removal of coal.
I
N a mine in Colorado a num ber of d rift tim bers treated w ith a well-known preservative w ere installed in a hot, damp entry. A fte r a year some of the posts began to decay at their lower ends. A n in
spection revealed the fact that the tim berm en had cut off in each case the foot of the post and had not applied a fresh coating of preservative to the exposed surface. T hose tim bers which had hot been cut were in p er
fect condition.
W here inferio r grades of tim ber can meet the mechanical requirem ents of strength and toughness, they will serve as well as the m ore costly tim ber of the higher grades. In such a case a tim ber-treatm ent engineer could possibly m ake a saving which m ight not occur to the m ine super
intendent.
It has been previously stated that mine tim ber requirem ents vary greatly and that the m ethod of tre a t
ment should be adjusted to m eet these varying requirem ents. A s an illus
tration, the treatm ent of shaft tim bers, which are expected to last for the life of the mine, need not neces
sarily be the same as those for d rift sets, which may serve fo r only a few years ; the treatm ent cost should vary in proportion.
Again, tim ber in haulageways may
need better treatm ent w ith a deeper penetration, in order to w ithstand the w ear and tear due to derailed trips, swaying cars and small side clearance, bruises due to flying debris from face shooting and other rough usages, w hereas the tim ber in an unused parallel entry such as an aircourse or m anway may be efficiently treated by a less expensive process.
T h e ventilation of a mine also plays an im portant p art in the economic life of tim ber, as was well illustrated in a mine in New M exico which was recently visited. T w o parallel en
tries about 50 ft. ap art were tim bered at the same tim e w ith the same kind of tim ber and under the same roof conditions, but the tim ber in neither entry had been treated.
O
N E of these entries had a volume of fresh air sweeping through it which had not come in contact with fungi and which, consequently, did not carry any spores. T h e tim bers which were inspected at the time of this visit w ere all sound and in good condition, apparently as serviceable as when first placed. T he o ther entry was a main retu rn aircourse, and the air current was hum id and w arm and, furtherm ore, had traversed th at p art of the mine containing m ore or less decayed tim ber. N aturally, spores w ere collected and carried in this retu rn air and deposited on the tim ber under the most favorable conditions fo r germ ination and g ro w th ; with decay as the inevitable result." In fact m any of these tim bers w ere so soft that a knife blade could be sunk to the handle in them.
A still fu rth e r exam ple "of the e f
fect of ventilation upon the life of tim ber is shown by the condition of some tim ber sets in a Colorado mine.
In the warm , moist air of an incline which was used as a retu rn the tim ber decayed rapidly until the air cu rren t was diverted by a cave of the roof and fresh air was draw n in. D uring this period the tim bers resisted decay fairly well, but when norm al ventila
tion was restored and return air again came up the incline, decay re
newed its attacks on the timber.
It is not improbable that a study of the ventilating system of the mine which takes into account th e tem per
ature, hum idity, quantity and fresh
ness of the air supply, its path through old w orkings together with the general tim ber conditions, might reveal m eans of rearranging the air currents so as to decrease or at least retard the rate of decay of the timbers.
Jtdy, 1928 — C O A L A G E 413
R e d u c e M enaci
Lay A ll Card
By H . S. Gilbertson
D irecto r o f Personnel L ehigh Coal & N avigation Co.
T
H E principles advanced in the preceding articles of this series have all been tried out with a m easure of success in the personnel procedure of the Lehigh Coal & N avigation Co., the oldest of anthracite producers, which m aintains a mining organization o f between 9,000 and 10,000 employees, distributed over eight collieries, in the Southern and M iddle anthracite fields.
1 he position of this company is such as to give rise to a great variety of personnel complications.
E xtrem ely complex m ining conditions are the occasion of frequent techni
cal differences between m anagem ent and men. Established traditions play a very im portant part, in the outlook of the m ining organization and the communities. A nthracite coal is prac
tically the sole local industry. U nion
ization is complete.
Given a background o f this kind, personnel adm inistration in its incep
tion called prim arily for a loosening- up process. T here were— and still are— prejudices to be overcome and confidences to be established. It m ust be recognized that in such an indus
trial layout the hum an units are played upon or molded by a thousand and one different influences.
I
T H A S always seemed to the w riter th at w hat the procedure called for was not a m atter of set- ting up w hat have perhaps come to be regarded as standard personnel services— an employment office, pensions, group insurance, and the like— but first o f all an analysis of each per-
unlimited scope. I t m ay approach its ends through the m ining engineer, the mechanical departm ent, the account
ing departm ent, as well as the direct operating officials, or it m ay go out
side the mine organization to the newspapers, the local civic organiza
tions or outside individuals.
I f the personnel objectives and policies of this particular company m ust be reduced to phrases, they would be three in num ber and closely ak in : the open book, the open door, and the open mind.
T he m anagem ent fo r some years past has responded freely to re quests fo r inform ation concerning its operations. B ut the definite per
sonnel and public relations program entered upon four years ago m eant that the initiative in this publicity policy shifted from the public to the management. It was no longer a m at
te r of satisfying occasional public curiosity but of going out with the facts and practically compelling the organization and the public to be inform ed. I t was felt that secrecy and ignorance w ere positive dangers.
H . S . G ilbertson-
socialities but w ith the utmost fullness and frankness ; responsibility has been placed for serious accidents; the po
sition of the company toward local political issues and tow ard the par
ticipation of company executives m politics has been freely discussed. The paper aims to acquaint the organiza
tion from top to bottom with the innerm ost significant details of the business, not so much by preachment as by presentation of facts. It has courted criticism on any phase of m anagement, and has received it ni rath er abundant m easure.
Does this publicity pay? Foljr years ago the announcement of this policy was received with skepticism.
M any felt, and said, in one way or another, th at “there was a trick in it.
B ut a succession of actual events, confirming the statem ents and judg
m ents of the management, and _dis
crediting those of some of its critics, gradually gained favor and authority fo r the policy. I t is possible to sense the passing of many of the old sus
picions. Irresponsible and defama
to ry rum ors whose effect in the past
Three Objectives
I f the personnel objectives o f this com pany w e re to be reduced to phrases, th ey w o u ld be th re e in n u m b er and closely a k in : the open book, the open d o o r a n d the open mind.
sonnel problem as it arises in the light of all the facts. T he “services”
m ight sometimes be called into being, but they would be incidental m eans to an end. T he solution would often take the form of improving the func
tioning of the ordinary day-to-day m achinery of operation. In this view personnel adm inistration has almost
T
H E principal m edium of inform ation is a four-page m onthly paper which has dealt w ith any num ber of supposedly delicate subjects. Profits from the sale of coal, costs, etc., have been published frequently, and from several standpoints; the policies and actions of local union leaders have been criticized w ithout heat or per-
414 C O A L A G E — Vol.33,NoS
of L a b o r
m the Table
worked infinite harm are quickly nailed. The m anagement speaks, on every live issue, directly to every one of its individual employees who cares to hear, over the heads of any who might be inclined to distort the facts.
In all these four years there has never been a come-back which would cause the management to feel that it has said too much.
The management, having estab
lished this policy of publicity and frankness, sought to secure a recip
rocal attitude on the p art of the supervisory forces. I t has been im pressed upon forem en and others in authority that inform ation concern
ing every m atter which has to do not only with the attitudes, actions and welfare of the men but every phase of operation is a m atter of company concern and is, in fact, company pro p erty. And by “company” is meant not simply the m anagem ent or the board of directors but all those who have a definite stake in the w elfare of the business.
T
H E reciprocity idea and its e ffects are perhaps best illustrated by the detailed accounting fo r mine costs. These costs, of course, origi
nate under each assistant (section) foreman and are built up mainly from his time-book record. T here was a time when the duty of giving up detailed inform ation was somewhat resented. B ut of recent years it has been handed back to the operating men in analytical form as a m easure of individual achievement and as a guide to fu rth er progress. T h e habit of secretiveness has been largely overcome.
And then, there is the community to be thought of, something rather peculiar to coal m ining which most industries know little about. I t is something ap art from the mine or
ganization, even though the adult male personnel of it is about nine- tenths the same. A s a community, this aggregation of mine w orkers and their friends naturally thinks, talks and acts more freely than in the em ployer and employee relationship.
Organized in boroughs and school
U N R E S T ;
districts, it can tax the property of the coal company or companies, which constitutes the source of from 40 to 96 per cent of the local tax revenue in the different districts.
W h at should a coal company do in the prem ises? T he old way in some localities was.to crack the w hip;
one of those practical, direct policies which sometimes brought quick re
turns and an ultim ate harvest of ill- will and retaliation. T he new way is, again, publicity. Local taxation is
virtually a factor, and a very im por
tan t one, in labor costs. Costs de
term ine prices, prices determ ine m arkets and m arkets determ ine the volume of employment and personal income. T h e mining com m unity is beginning to see this, as well as the general tru th th at the fortunes of the coal company are in nearly every re spect identical with those of the com
munity. H ere again the teachings contained in company statem ents some time since have been verified by the recent depression in the anthracite m arket.
A N O P E N -D O O R policy has been j f \ a d o p t e d . A ny individual, on any mission, however trivial, practically at any tim e is privileged to walk in on the director of personnel without
previous appointm ent and w ithout knocking. E very year hundreds of in
dividual employees avail themselves of this opportunity, but since there are about three hundred w orking days in the year, the visits are not burdensome. T h ere are some “pests”
who over-stay their welcome or come too often, but these are exceptional ; the general run of visitors state their business and leave prom ptly. T he greatest benefit accruing to the per
sonnel situation from this practice lies not in the fact that certain particular individuals m ake these visits but that the hundreds or thousands who do not come in have the feeling th at they could do so if the occasion arose.
These individual visits, both actual and potential, favor the flow of essen
tial inform ation in both directions.
O u t of them have come opportunities to know at first hand the psychology of the w orkers, which form erly came to the m ain office at second o r th ird hand, and, of course, w ith a loss of personal color. A new and detailed viewpoint is brought to bear on the problems of the individual w orker through this channel. T o anyone who, w ith some exercise of im agina
tion, will read between the lines of the tales and complaints of those in
dividuals a rich fu n d of inform ation
— partly fact and partly fiction— is available, upon which to base recom m endations for constructive measures.
T hus it will appear th at a good deal of the personnel program relates to the building up of an atm osphere of confidence in company policies. T o the open book and the open door add
The Open-Door Policy
A n y in d iv id u a l, on a n y m ission, h o w e v e r tri v i a l, p r a c t ic a l ly a t a n y tim e is p r iv il e g e d to w a lk in o n t h e d i r e c t o r o f p e r s o n n el w i t h o u t p r e v io u s a p p o i n t m e n t a n d w i t h o u t k n o c k ing. E v e r y y e a r h u n d r e d s o f i n d i v id u a l e m p lo y e e s a v a il th e m s e lv e s o f th is o p p o r t u n i t y . T h e g e n e r a l ru n o f v i s ito r s s t a t e t h e i r business a n d l e a v e p r o m p t l y . T h e g r e a t e s t benefit a c c ru in g t o t h e p e r s o n n e l s i t u a t i o n f r o m th is p r a c ti c e lies n o t in t h e f a c t t h a t c e r t a i n p a r t i c u l a r in
d iv id u a ls m a k e th e s e visits b u t t h a t t h e h u n d r e d s o f t h o u s a n d s w h o do n o t com e in h a v e t h e f e e l i n g t h a t t h e y co u ld d o so if t h e occasion a r o s e .
July, 1928— C O A L A G E 415
