West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-10-02
COLLlERY BOYS.
Hardy Young Lads as MuIs-DrIvers ana
Slatc-PiciSers.


Hardy Young Lads rs Mule Drivers and
Slatc-Pickers.
Those who have at any time visited
any of the mines or coal-brcakcrs of
the anthracite regions of PENNSYLVANIA
could not fail to be forcibly impressed
by the large number of boys. many of
them of Il very tender age employed
in the collierics n drivers of mules and
door-tcndcrs. and i'm the screen room
as slatc.pickcrs. Many Of those little
men, who, with their grmy faces and
hardened hands look like u strange
race of human beings, are under the age
of twelve. but they perform most inn
portant task in the great work of pre-
pairing the dusky anthracite for the
market In the mines rs mule drivers
these hardy lads are invaluable. They
sing and whistle and laugh and play
amid their gloomy surroundings. and
they can manage the erratic mule bet
ter than most men. They drive the
loaded cars from the working chambers
To the foot of the shaft up which the
coal is hoisted TO the tower of the
breaker, aud they take the complies
back to the men who blast down the
coal from the "brcast"
As general thing the boys employed
as mule drivers are oldcr and stronger
than those who work i'm tho screen. .
rooms of tho breakers. The duties of
the latter consist of sorting the slate
from the broken coal, which flows i'm
black streams down n number of chutcs
from the ponderous machinery i'm
which the cleaning anthracite powders
are broken into the requisite sizes. The
atc-p ckers sit in rows astrde these
chutcs, their eyes fixed steadily on the
broken coal that brushes past them
down the steep incline. and their fin
gers nimbly at work picking out the
black, dull pieces of slate that arc
mixed with the glistening anthracite.
During this flow of coal down the
chute no sbirking is tolerated The
boys must keep their eyes constantly
on the chutes and sec TO Il that all the
bits of slate are taken out.
In order 90 secure strict attention on
the part of those little workers super
intendcnt stands on guard. This in.
dividual, who by the nature OF his oc-
cupaton is usually dislkcd by the slate
pickers, is known rs n ''crackor boss, F"
the breaker being sometimes called n
coal cracker. The "cracker boss" must
be strict. therefore he is considered sc.
we're. Sometimes he is the victim of
various mischevous pranks. His whip
Is hidden, his chewing tobacco is lost.
his hat is mislaid or some other "acci-
dent of an embarrassing sort occurs
whenever the opportunity presents it
self. II by any chance the "crackor
boss is absent for few minutes, the
screen-room suddenly undergoes n
transformation. and the rows OF little
fellows who usually sit at their work
with Lowed heads give forciblc illus
tration Of the maxim that "boys will be
BOYS"
Some of the saddest accidents con
nectcd with coal mining have occurred
in the breakers among children who
pick slate. Little fellows have been
ground TO death in the massive ma
chinery, and many Of their comrades
have lost their lives in the effort 10 save
them. The unselfsh beroism of the
men who work in the mines has had
its counterpart among the lads i'm the
cOal-breaker, and instances could be
mentioned of the child hcroism of the
screen-roOm. When the little fellows
first go TO work at slate picking they
find the task severe aud painful. Sit
ting in a STOPPING position amid clouds
of coal dust is painful, and tiny fingers
are cruelty cut and bled by contact
with the pieces of coal, which are as
sharp as bits of broken glass. In time
the hands become hardened, and so do
the boys. so that what was at first re-
gardcd as slavery seems comparative
ly easy
In tho coal breakers especially many
hundreds Of children arc employed under
the age OF twelve years There are in
stances Of boys being sent 20 pick slate
even at six years Of age and any num-
ber may be found in the screen-rOOm
between six and nine. Some Of these
are probably the sole support OF a
mother and younger children. the
father Of the family having been sud-
denly killed At his work in the mine.
IL seems cruel TO send such boys 70
work, but IL seems equally cruel to pre-
vent them from earning The needed
crust for tho stricken families 10 which
they belong. The question has con.
sumed much attention for several years
throughout the coal fields, and 40 the
last session Of the Legislature Of Penn
sylvania section was embodied i'm the
general mine law prohibiting child
labor In and about the mines. - ScruH-
ton pa Cor. ~ j. Times.