Daily Tombstone epitaph., 1885-12-22
TEMPORARY SETBACK.
Breaking of the Pump-Rod at
 the Grand Central Mine.

tue Urauu CcuCrdl Mlue'
 What Might Have Been . Disastez
 Proves only m Annoying Accident.
 A good deal of excitement was occa- stoned on the streets yesterday afternoon by the announcement that serious breakdown had occurred at the Grand Central works. The news spread like wild6re, and was followed by the report that the mines would necessarily be closed down for period of not less than three months. An EPITAPH emissary was immediately dispatched to the scene of the reported disaster. Arriving on the hill, Superintendent Gage was found. apparently ina very calm and unrufiled frame of mind, which gave instant reas. surance to the news gatherer. Upon in. quiry it was learned that an accident had occurred, but not of such serious import as was at first feared. Noticing an ir. regularity in the working of the pumps, the engineer in charge upon investiga. tion discovered that the ponderous pump.rod, which is IIxII square, solid steel, weighing upwards of oo,ooo pounds, and 500 feet in length, showed signs of fracture near the top. The machinery was stopped at once and thorough examination begun. It was discovered that in addition to the frac. ture mentioned, there was
 ANOTHER BREAK
 near the Ioo-foot level; while it is be- lieved yet another will be found near the 3oo.foot level. While the accident is to be regretted and will necessitate an ex- penditure of about SI5,ooo, yet the com. pany is to be congratulated that the flaw was discovered before the rod had en. tirely parted. Had this not been the case, the result would have been most disastrous. Had the ponderous weight been suddenly released while the ma chinery was in full motion, complete destruction of the fy-wheel, edgine, etc., must have resulted. The steel rod was put in merely as an experiment, opinions differing among frst-class mining men as to whether it would prove superior to the tried and tested timber rods that have heretofore been in vogue. The result proves that the experiment, while cost ly one, has not proven a success. The rod
 WILL BE REPLACED
 as soon as energy and money can ac- complish il. The new rod will be of Puget Sound pine, a quality that has stood the test of long usage, and which is in use in many of the mines of Europe, as we'll as those of this country. That a solid steel shaft, with apparently little direct strain upon it, should be broken seems to the superficial observer almost incredible. The cause assigned by com. petent engineers is the tremendous vibra- tion caused by the extreme length and enormous weight of the shaft.
 As before stated, when the news of the accident reached town it caused quite panicky feeling among business men and others, who saw in their minds cessa- tion of operations at the mines and con- sequent depression and stagnation of all kinds of business. However, the EPI. TAPH is in possession of facts which happily prove these
 FEARS WITHOUT FOUNDATION. Pending the putting in of the new rod, there will in reality be employed a larger number of men than at present. There will be no draft of men from the work ings of either mine. The accident will "let out" only few top men, engineers, wipers, etc., while the repairs will require a much larger number. So it will be sean that no cause for apprehension ex. ists.
 The Contention pumps will continue as usual, and it is believed they will be enabled to keep the water down to the present level. Messrs. White and Gage are not in the least discouraged by the accident. They regard it merely as an incident, and not as disaster. As has been previously stated by the EpITAPH, the capacity of the pumps to control the water and drain the mines has been am ply demonstrated; and no trivial accident such as that of yesterday will prevent a thorough exploitation of the unexplored depths.
 L. Lineberg, President of the Hebrew