The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-07-23
Written FER the Advocate
Nv q II NIIN
TIE MINER.
SKETCHES FROM THE COAL MINES

III Ahuos " "AAioNg AohLAaAt fAs
| sincerely hope that the following sketch
es may prove themselves TO he acceptable
the general public, and hope by their
aid to convince the public, that miners have
been very badly used in being so persistent
" misrepresonted by the public press. 1t
seems to me, who in my life time have had
much personal experience among miners
and among mines being both practical
miner and a mining engineer, that Of all
kinds Of workers in existence, none are
obliged to work so bard and in in such pre-
carious situations as have the miners. /
have seen the sailor on the yard s end to be
almost dipped with the watery pillows that
threatened to engulph his ship | have
seen the coal miner lay flat on the ground
and bury his face in the dust Of a mine
gallery, while stream of fire rolled over
him with tremendous sweep, swelling and
battling more furiOusly even than the waves
Of the sea the waves in one case seemed
to rise into the air, while the fluid fire
swept The roof, but on its lower surface
we're rolls like the waves Of the sea in 81 pc
struggling to descend That, as a witness,
| have been pretty close to the place where
such scenes as these have been enacted you
may rightly conclude, were it not so ]
should not presume to intrude myself on
your notice.
As we travel along the road to take these
sketches, we will not pass those features
which may be considered blotches on the
face Of nature. These we shall meet &C.
cordIng to their deserts. Anything in the
shape Of tyranny Or imposition, you may de-
pend upon having shown up in such colors
as this poor pen is capable of painting. He
may be considered harsh in some instances,
but be begs leave to state that, if he is
harsh and severe in these cases, be will not
have been SO without very good cause.
That my heart and soul have been, and
are on the side Of the miner, and other
working men too, let them be hand worker;
or head-workers, the fact Of my having en-
gagged my pen in their behalf, fer years and
years before the w. B. A. was thought of
will serve to tell. That my papers have no
been confined to what the tCorld calls work
ing mems papers, the fact Of such appear
ing in some Of the English and American
magazines will show. Even the Miner
Journal Of Pottsville, to do Mr.. BannaI
Justice in this matter, published in th
years 1856 and 1857, as much matter Of
the ventilation of coal mines, as would hav
covered a couple of hundred pages, whic
were written by u re-, and which on aceoun
Of showing up Deficiencies, gained me tn
ill-will Of nearly every coal mining boss il
the anthracite coal region. On this matte
Of ventilation | Observation-Disclosures as
was to my own interests-until l succeeded
in the year 1859, of getting put in opera
ton a ventilating fan, worked by steam
power, at the Stuartsville colliery, nea
Mt Carmel, Northumberland County
Pennsylvania. To the late Mr.. Alex. w
Rea, however, / was much indebted for hi
kind assistance 10 this matter for, on bein!
convinced that it would operate successfully
be allowed the fan to be put up in a sub
stantial manner at L. P. Gamers irol
works in Ashland, according to drawing
furnished While the Locust Mountain
Coal ard Iron company kept the mine q
Stuartsville, and worked it themselves, th
said fan was kept in successful operation
but as soon as the colliery was leased to a.
Individual operator the fan was not used an
more, for they said the mine did not nee
vcntilating as there was no explosive gases
The fan, as a ventilating power, was thu
laid aside, till Mr.. Lowden Beadle, Sup
at an adjoining colliery, took the matter up
and few years subsequently, Mr.. Garner
the machinist at Ashland, built him To
same kind Of fan that be had built for th
Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company
and he was SO satisfied with its operation
that behold be took out a United State
patent, and levied royalty on all ventilatiny
fans used erhausterS of air from the Goa
mines. This was taxing the very air on,
has to breathe. | thought SO when had M
attention directed towards Mr.. Beadle'
proceedings regarding the patents, and hav
ing left my situation as assistant engineer t
the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Com
pany, and being then in England, endeavor
ing to introduce iron work for the moutl
Of the English coal pits, came back to thi
country and have done my best to annu
Mr. Lowden Beadle's patent right. AT tn
present time the exbausting fan is free, ant
shortly the drawings Of an improved fal
will be given to the public, the use .
which for the mines will be free, but if uset
al q COMPRISING fan in the manufacture 0
metals, &C., will be taxed slightly at leas
such is the intention Of the inventor at th,
present time.
As soon as / came back to this country
began again with the ventilatiDg question
but what said had not much force, it wal
subject there lUds no money IN people said
so l took up my pen again and began work
at an elementary book on the subject, which
il now complete, and when published will
be embellished with a score of drawings and
maps.
The working out Of The problems Of this
little work, has cost me much hard stndv.
and as the subject has not been treated II
an elementary form by others, there was to
be had no assistance Besides this, | tound
by careful examination Of some Of the
works written by practical engineers Of
England, that contained many errors, and
these errors were TO be rectited and the
engineering public yet have to be reconciled
to the change Of system which is adopted in
my book on ventilation.
No man has been denounced more than
/ have been denounced, while | have bee.
what my dearest friends called, so improh