The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-09-24

THE MINER.
SKETCHES FROM THE COAL MINEs
RUGGED, soisTRoys syr RrRoDUcroR.

RUCcED, BoisTRoUs But INTRODUCTORY.
Yaa -ee the telegrapbs are like spouts,
lined with sheet iron, and are sufficiently
inclined TO allow the coal to slide down and
till up the bins that are constructed TO re-
ceivc the different sizes ana keep them sop
arlte. You see also that The art, with the
slate the imps pitch out, Il carried Of nv
means Of telegr0yhS ana sclutes, To thu
back Of the building, where that rollcking
youth Pat Finn, with ~ mpish assistant 81
two, and a mule ate engaged in wheeling
i away g the tip Of The dirt bank, where
B.ddy Fanuigan others as we'll
manage to scrape up their writer's stock Of
coal subject in tho meantime % Pat Finn $
practical jokes. 'ut Pat has the good will
ot them all, as often helps some Of the
poor lassgs t0 a log or two Of coal, which
ho picks from the refuse with his own mis-
yhevous hauIs,and against the direct wishes
ana orders VI a rather lJmiueyrins outside
boss.
Below you iu tla Bins you IVY space il
the Aggregate ~ which may be packed over
oae thousand ,oas X t1d al, ready FIR lun-
H.as iuto the cats, and all under a good
water tight rnof
You leave Danui, with bis boys or imps.
us to speak t9ahu.iny, slate piekors, and
the ulaGms& after he y5al makes AZ It drops
from TIE scrccus and runs down the iron
Ii. cl telcgrlpb,an ascend 90 d higher level,
N which you have ac.g,, ny another flight
VI steps ami you remark M YOU DO So
That those lal~ riT. very little about Den
us authority, u spite W the Stout piece Of
hickory rod he ha- taken into his hand with
q view y enforcing discipline nut lal
ID the crowd that will MT have hey fun III
spite or hickory or anything clse Poor
Dennis IS often made INFO target but
they turn each other into targets whenever
il will suit their impish purposes. Dennis
/, certainly the best target or butt for a prac
.ticsl inse; It'll such fun to hear him swear
You say good bye, imp-, | am Tor upper
,anl more peaceabe regions; and maybe
Eou are bit % black as u seem after all,
dlulc imps Appearances 60 a groat way
80 know. My impression would possibly
Be more favorable if | we're to see you with
thc coal dust washed off your impish faces,
ard With clean linen on your impish persons,
III. cad Of rags filthy with grease and coal
Dirt How far circumstances 20 to convert
YOU into the imps you seem, | shall not pre-
tend to say. BY gracious now, that think
Of it, how would the eight hour law effect
your impish cases. That air you are taking
into your little impish lungs sparkles again
with the particles of coal dust it holds in
suspension. On Mr.. Coaldale w1y don't
y0u look into this matter? These are mere
children YOU pen up here among this coal
dust for ten and hcelrs hours per day. Are
YOU % great a monster Us / am beginning
70 think you are Depend upon it, if
these little imps meet you in the world 70
oone you will have bar time Of it, much
harder time, indeed, than poor old Dennis
has Of it in the present edition Of biz tedious
existence. In this matter concerning imps,
somebody is to blame, and somebody will be
held responsible. Inns, Mr.. CoadaIe, are
not in demand, and z have no business TO
raise them Have patience I'LL you go to
the proper place and then YOU will have
enough Of them. You have nothing to do
with the matter ch? You buy their time
ana services at two or three dollars per
week, you say. Depend upon it, Coal
dale. that there are something's that belong
to God, and you have no right to buy
them with money. These little imps are
made IN the form Of little angels, only my
dear fellow you seem 70 BE the chief cause 81
perverting their intended condition For
this little matter you seem to have every
chance Of succeeding; there is nothing like
beginning al the beginning. Train up a
sappHng as you wish il to grow, and you
will have a crooked unsighily object, or a
stFaEe e. and comedy one. Have a care Mr.
Coaldale, or these little imps you are rails
ing will grow up to he YOUR little devils !"
All this passes through your mind as
you ascend that flight Of steps that leads
you to the level IF tile platform. Here
you find dust, noise, hustle and a set Of
brawny fellows hard at work selecting
masses Of coal, and directing them into
their proper channels The platform is
spacious affair; some twelve or fourteen
feet one way, and very nearly thirty feet
another la front of the platform, inclin
ing towards it from a higher level, is the
dumping schultz, standing at an angle of
twenty-five degrees. The platform and
dumping schultz are lined with heavy sheet
iron, over which the coal dumped at the tip
slides easily. There six strong men at
work on the platform, and these are SO bust
y engaged that they have barely time to
notice you. They have black faces, but
the devil seems 10 be worked out of them. /
Some work with lorg handled shovels,
while others work with tool that is a com
bination Of pick and hammer The former |
seize the largest Jumps Of coal and slide
them into the slump coal schultz, " and the /
lesser sizes they shovel through the square
holes that open through the platform TO the /.
regions below This coal encounters the /
breaking rollers and is reduced il size as
/ works through between their surfaces
isr the breaking rollers work together like I
Me rolls Of an iron mill, and have strong
ugly pointed teeth, set at regular distances I
al over their outer surfaces These Coal .
dale rollers are in two pairs, one pair being
placed beneath another pair, and the coal
! conducted into them by means Of iron .
ined hoppers. Their diameter is three
eet- = ? length Of cylindrical part nearly
: Hi NJ q they crunch, crunch, crunch,
Nt.ioek, o,rnei Market saieen their surfaces,
&ly~ye1in' Az y o'cioef
EI-Aryoa1AxsttVy =