The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-09-23
THE MINER.

BELIEvILLE, ILL.,, August 80, 1871.
To tie tditor 81 the woFESoxAS's ADvsoArH.
In your Asue Of the 26th, Just received.
there il a communication from G. A. Lo-
gan, President OF the Leavenworih Coal
Company, half column long; criticisng
paragraph of fifteen lines, which appear.
ed in your "Miners' News of the issue Of
August 9th, and under cover Of that crit
icism, advertising that coal company and
their single shaft mine.
The writer of that communication cour-
ageOusly un lertakes to prove that each of
the fifteen lines referred to BY him contains
one or more falsehoods. First, he denies
that "anv agent of his has been securing
St. Clair or any other county for men,"
Proof-John Mahan, from tile above
named mine, was in St. Clair county about
a week, hunting for men for the company
Of which our critic is president, ands en-
gagged and took with him, paying their fare
to the mine, two men, all be could get from
Belleville, Michael MeNulty and Elijah
Green, and Thomas Law and family from
Reeb Station. Neither Mahan, McNulty
nor Green nor Law will deny this and
Messrs. Geo. Harris and James Dempsey
Of Belleville, know, and will if necessary
prove this fact.
End. He says 'the shaft instead of be-
ing sunk six years, has only been in opera
ton oneyear this month"
AhSUer Writing from memory, when
the item criticised was perused, we said it
he'd been sunk about six years. TO show
that that statement is about correct, we need
only refer to he lies Of the Leavenworth
(kansas) Conservative, where, in the issue
Of November :, 1865, an account is pub
lished Of the sinking Of the shaft in question,
and the statement made that he shaft with
the bore had then penetrated below 600
feet to the first strata, which was stated to
be 3 feet thick. The sau paper fourteen
days later, stated that the company had
sunk 80 feet below the first vein, and were
still going deeper. Now that is nearly five
years ago, and for ought we know they may
have continued their experiments as sinkers
up to the time when, zone year this month"; .
as be says, the pit went into operation.
Bird. He says of the shaft, that Instead
of being indItferently timbered, it is tim
bered from top to bottom. and the work was
done by Mr.. Harris Daddow, of Penna.
author of the best book on mining vet pub
Iisbed, "CoG!, Iron and Oil"
AnsUer.-It may be timbered from toI
to bottom, but if, as Mcmahon, the agen
Of The company SAID when in Belleville, it il
,imbersd with two inch plank, that is no
a sufficient tmbering for such a shaft, bu
is very indifferent timbering for a shat
more than 600 feet deep. Nor is it sufi
cient to say that the work was done BY Mr.
Daddow, who is paraded as the author O
. book. "What Greeley knows abou
farming" has never been sufficient to con
vince the reades Of bis book that Greelev
is god farmer. though be may writ,
and publish books. The same reason giver
for the sufhciency Of Daddow's work il
timbering that shaft. or for his competency
would apply with equally as much, if no
more force, to Mr.. Benjamin Bannon, edi
tor Of the Pottsville Miners Journal, VIII,
also claims to be the author Of the work Of
"Codl, Iron and Or above alluded to
confessipg, however, that Mr.. Daddow ha,
assisted him therein. But if the miners 0
the Pottsville region were to be told tha
the timbering Of shaft more than 600 fee
deep was necessarily well done becaus
Bannon had done it, they could hardly
suppress their laughter at The simplicity Q
the person making that statement.
Some of the old shafts in this count,
were, in the FIRST instance, timbered wit
two inch plank, but il was found necessar,
to use three inch plank, after a number Q
u them bad caved in, a. q mere matter 0
economy, 70 say nothing Of the safety o