Smyrna times., 1876-01-12
For the Smyrna Times.
Among the Coal Mines.
SCRANTON AND ITS SURROUNDINGS

lhlnklng description of the celebrated
coal fields of Pennsylvania, and the method.
/ OF procuring the Black Diamonds" mipbt
be OF interst to some of the readers Of tbe
TINES, we give you brief account of what
we have learned, during our stay of eight
months here. Scranton, the chief citv of
the mining region, is busy, " "wide-awake''
place OF $4,000 inhabitants, pleasantly
situated on the south side of the Blue
Mountains, and on both sides of the Lacla.
wanna river, eight miles above its conHu.
ence with the Susquehanna. 1t is the
center OF commercial travel, being reached
from New York by direct line of the
Dell Lackawanna & Western R. R., from
which 1T is $50 miles distant, and about 16O
miles from Philadelphia by the North
Penn. and Lehigh & Susquehanna r. R
These, with the several roads that termi.
nate here, afford every facility for the
transportation of her mineral products.
Inc architecture of the city is a marked
feature OF its progress. No place of its age
ana population i'll the Union can excel II
In Its advances toward perfect deyelon.
| ment of studied taste. The few small
shantles OF the early growth are fast being
supplanted by structures of beauty and
grandeur. Notwithstanding the ridiculous
reports which at times gain footing from
outside Journals in reference to its morals
and depravity no city of its size in America
governed by SO small police force.
In school buildings, and adiuncts for
educational purposes, they show system
that will compare favorably with anv citv
in the United States
In manufacturing, Scranton peers with
the largest and more noted cities. The
Dickson Manufacturing Co., one of the
largest and best of the kind in the co,ptr,,
Tor the manufacture of locomotives and
stationary engines, is a vast industry. The
iron and steel works that run both dav and
night give employment to a large number
OF men and turn out railroad iron and
other material with great rapidity. These.
with the stove works, the car shops. the
silk factory, and other branches of indus.
try, employ not less than 5000 men.
Coal however is the most important of
all the industries, 6,3S7,OOO tons being
mined in this immediate region in 1878. or |
an average of 2l,O00 tons daily, giving en-
pioyment to 1900 men and boys, about
2,OOO mules are also required to draw the |
small cars, the majority being used under
ground. In and around the mines there is
269 miles OF narrow guage railroad, only
about 30 miles of that being on the surface.
There are three methods of opening a
mine, viz; Shaft, slope, and adit, or drift.
The former resembles an ordinary well, en-
larged to l0x20, or l2x24 feet. The second
is driven on an incline, varying from 30 to
40 degrees, according to the pitch of the
strata. The drift is similar to a tunnel,
excepting that one is driven with, and the
other across the measures. The coal is
hrst dug out by the miners, loaded into
cars, and drawn by mules to the bottom of
the pit, from which it is raised by steam
power to the top of the breaker, which is
very high frame building. 1t is then
dumped into bin, or schute, the larger
Jumps of pure coal being selected for en-
glne and furnace uses while the balance
passes through pair of rollers, or crushers,
by which it is broken into the various sizes
used for domestic purposes. After passing
through the rolls it falls into revolving
screen made of wire, in the form of a
cylender, the meshes varying from inch ,
TO 2s inches in size. The length of the
screen is from Is to 30 inches, and is used
Tor the purpose of dividing the coal into
The following sizes: Pea, chestnut, stove, +,
egg and crate. The three latter are all :
picked over by hand. From 40 to 60 boys,
known as "Cracker Boys" are employed
n each breaker to remove the impurities.
The cost of coal to the consumer is from !,
$40 to $500 per ton delivered any place
within two miles of the mines. The CHEAP.
hess of fuel is a great item to the poor, par Z
icularly in a latitude where the ther-
nometer goes to zero frequently. .
So much does the prosperity of the region ,
lepend OIL the coal interest that when
mining stops all mercantile business feels 7
he effect. p
The only representation of Delaware
journalism we have is the SMYRNA TIMES, /"
which is read with much interest, par.
icularly by J.rr.