The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-01-01

regions, are with the real mining en-
glneer, secondary to such work, as
sinking shafts, planning mining ma
dhinery, tubing out quicksands, direct
ihg the underground workings, avoiding
!reeps, attending to the ventilation
and they do these items IF duty, in such
ttyle of perfection, that from a single
ihaft-with one or two seams not more
than four feet in thicknesS-as high
Quantity as two thousand tons Of coal,
Will be raised daily. by the working Of
Two winding engines, each engine
working two cages in one half OF the
shaft.
II What is viewerl | shall answer
she question again. He is simply this !;
"a practical miner, who has taken the
pains to steep his brains in the sciences
connected with his business, and in
such a manner as to master them. lie
aas ridden over the stumbling block
! 10Th prop. lst book of Euclid) that an
Iancient mathematician laid in the track
;of geometry. He has followed closely
ION the heels of the modern philosopher,
land analysed his most difficult prob
Items last he has learnt to apply the
scientific to the practical, and literally
lived the two in the process Of mining,
lis one who will analyse a gas, or essay
!! a meteorological specimen You may
term him a viewer, miner, pitm9n, or
what you will; this is a mining en-
gineer in every sense, whether he has
.served an apprentice or not
In these anthracite coal mines, min
ling engineers are much needed. There
are none at present, and the result is,
that at some of the mines, one half to
two thirds of the coal contained in a
coal property, is wasted by unskiled
and careless working. Miners are not
encouraged to take pains and get the
coal clean out; where they get but
twelve cents for cutting ton of coal at
robbing out pillars, they have no time
to spare or waste over cleaning up
small quantities Of coal so the natural
result is the owner Of the coal land, and
the country must suffer the loss. As
long as the operator can get coal mined
cheaply, he thinks all is well he does
not think of the coal that is left i'll the
mines in such a position, that it never
can be got out, or that it is any loss to
him, or to the country, or district; and
he is often so bigoted that he thinks
his system of mining, cannot be I'M
proved for his own, or for any ones
benefit
would fain impress on the minds of
those connected with mining, the ne
cessity Of raising genuine mining en-
gineers to conduct mining operations
here, and for to have done with AGENTS
who are no better than clerks at best
AS soon as possible. The hard work
ing miner would be benefited because
he then would be in the hands Of one
who understood the nature Of his toll
and difficulties, sufficiently to give him
assistance and sympathy. Foul gases
would be removed by systematic venti-
lation. A specializing AGENT or OPE-
RAToR would then have no business to
interfere in the direction of the works.
The best men to make mining en-
gineers of, are miners own boys,
trained to the mines, and properly
qualified by first class scientific edu-
cation An English mining engineer
could not come here and begin to con-
duct these mines successfully, until he
had acquired few years experience
in them, SO as to understand their ma
ture, hence an imported specimen Of
the craft, would not be tolerated, ex-
cept few years of grace were granted
him.
Except more encouragement be
given in this after Of improved min
ing, no mining engineers are likely tc
be raised in the district. To complete
a minino engineer, who had been
raised Ill is district, a few years Of
contact with the engineers of France
Belgium, and England would be ne.
cessary.
The student would be required to
possess great tact and industry, and to
be endowed by nature with great
ability, and robust constitution. This
latter he would need /; for after gaining
proficiency in the profession, he
would have a hard battle to fight
against the bigots of the coal region ;
these he would literally have put down
and re-establish a new system Of mining
coal.
Young men who have a capacity for
scientific training, should consider
mining here is chance for skill ener-
gy and industry.
T. II. w.
ASHLAND, Penusy Iyanis, Novemer, 1869.