The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-12-30

cient 10 reach any part Of the structure.
Wanting q Babcock, or some such ar
rangement a. this, il . serious drawback to
the otherwise perfect get-up Of the shafts
i'm any district. No doubt something will
now be done TO prevent q recurrence Of
such an unfortunate destruction Of prop
erty. We usually lock the door when the
horse is stolen.
la very short time after the alarm half
the men on the field were on the ground.
Their presence, however, was Of little ser
vice, as there was no water at hand, and
the flames spread with astonishing rapid
Ity. This il not to be wondered at, for the
woodwork around coal shafts is always
more or less saturated with oil, which is
largely and constantly in use. Witho<
any means Of defense, the hundreds u
willing hands could do nothing but stand
back and witness the work of destruction
INDUCED III BY the fiery demon. t did not
take long to devour everything Inside ~
two hours little that fire would consume
remained The shaft proper being All eH-
cePtiOnally dry one, the burning timbers
falling down, set it also Ga fire, aud being
constantly fed by flaming boards, it was
soon roaring furnace. The ventilation
was shut 81 BY stoppings," or air tight
walls built up in the air passages below
communicating with the escape shaft, =
and the mules, thirteen in number, con-
veyed TO a safe place. This, to some de-
gree, arrested the progress u the fire, and
prevented II, ! presume, from spreading
into the workings to any extent. As the
opening is made in sand and gravel near the
surface, many are Of the opinion that the
supporting timbers being burned ont, the
shaft il lost by cavirg in" beyond re.
demption. This opinion must be purely
speculative, as no one can see into the
shaft yet from above in consequence Of the
smoke, and no approach has been had t
il from below. Ny own impression is thai
II will yet be susceptible Of repair, though
no positive idea can be formed at thus mo
ment
The cost u the property actually dc
stroyed is gwen by E. Hall, Esq, Super
intendent, as Aggrsgating no less thar
gu, 900. Over four hundred men wer,
employed in this one mine under ground
and about twenty on top. The output o
coal averaged very nearly $50 tons day
BY this you will see it is an importan
loss, not only to the company, but to tn,
workmen and business interests Of thi
city. True, the company have arranged
10 resume work at what is called the 4" H
shaft, and work two sets Of men-one a
night and one in the day. 1t will ais,
work two sets Of hands in portion of tn,
"E" shaft, and have started up shaft No
3 at Streator, where work will be given t,
all the single men who desire to 90. Thi
company owns all the important mine
there. With this arrangement much 0
the loss will be made up, though doubt
less calculations important to employer ans
employe will be seriously upset. 90 Tn
best laid schemes, etc.
In this disaster the utility Of the Is
capement shaft was forcibly illustrated
While the shaft and its surroundings wer
a mass Of flame, men went into the work
4 IL III. ~
secure, sought the bottom, and took there
from many boarded pit cars 10 place o
safety where hre could not reach, an,
there they stand now. The property thu
saved IS worth some thousands Of dollars
besides. IN case the main shaft be foun,
| lrreparable, TINS escapement can he rigge,
up and used in its stead. The mules wer
all taken out this way on Sunday last i
good order. Every body here nov admit
the wisdom and foresight that made a.
escaPement shaft compulsory under tn
| law.
| am glad to be able to say to you tina
the miners of Braidwood are moving i
the direction Of organization for CO opera
tive action. AT present they are arrangIn
to commence a cooperative grocery an'
provision store. They have appointe,
commissioners, who to-day made applica
ton to the Secretary Of State for certifi
cate authorizing them to open books TO
subscriptions to the capital stock previous
to getting a charter under the general law
The capital stock to begin on has been Sc
at So, 900, which is rather low, but wheI
they get started they will doubtless in
crease the amount All connected will
the enterprise feel quite sanguine Of it
success. | can only wish it may be, anc
prove the inception uf something beyond
! the mere matter Of a distributive concern
| only.
Fifteen hundred dollars has also beer
subscribed by the citizens here toward tn,
establishment Of library This is a NOV,
like the other in the right direction, anC
cannot fail to produce good results. Coco
men are at the head Of both concerns, anC
/ feel sure they will not let either fall :,
the ground. john JAMES
FROM ANDREW ROY.