The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-02-14
COAL MINERS ARE HAPPY.
LIFE UNDERGROUND COMPARED
WITH LIE ~ NEW IORK.

/" w " ~ w CIV W W.
utor- Ssy-Mine- Are Henithrui ana
Their Wages Are Good-DnnGcr OF
Accidents-oid Mules and Old Minors.
Down in n coal mine. underneath the-Madison
Square Garden. two miners were hard at work.
There is no coal mine underneath the Gnrdenf
No. but there was one: q sort Of a make-belicve.
imitation. one.mulo and two-miners affair. but
n very ingenious one. nevertheless. II had been
Incidental to the gas exposition. and the miners
were picking up their traps and getting ready
to go home. .s
The mine was only q mako-beliove, but the
miners were genuine. Their names were Ward
and walthur. ana their home isin westnoreland
county. Pennsylvania. There they have work cd
In coal mines ever since they were no higher
than a coal cart. which means since they were
small boys. They were imported especially for
the exposition, and they put in their spare
hours seeing the sights OF New York. They didn't
care very much for n good deal that they saw.
They told tie reporter that they were going
home the next day, and they added. with un.
mistaknble feeling. that thcy were glad Of 1t.
why said Ward. my wages down In
Pennsylvania average only about 1888 a day.
But I wouldn't take 81 a day In New YORK and
! bring my family here to live. I wrote to my
wife yesterday that New York wasn't any good
to people like us. who were born and brought up
In tho country. Why. I couldn't stay in a place
where. on a Sunday. ! couldn't take my family
and 20 out into the woods and pick flowers and
gather hickory nuts. aud eat our lunch on tho
grass. What would I wart to live In New York
for2 And have two or three little rooms in n
,,,,r ro.r nod .n.,,inc ,.n.n.,, ybera
.a.r,,,, -. ,,.,. o. -, ,bud,on On n,ov On
.xc.n, ,ho .,r..,.
60. hare /" noin,,py IN N ,orye pbo,ooranh Of
q village In a hollow among the hills. d" here's
where l live In Export. You can't hardly see the
house for the ~trees-that's an orchard butats
r,,h, ,h.r. Th.,,. n, ola rail fo,ce rpnn,pg
mn over IN. nm and ricbt there's tho schools
hou.. ,vbe,. Tho ,hrdren yo IN scnooI. nav
ca IA n month rent for my house md I have
ali tbs fu.i 7 can hpr, Tbs comnanv Give. nj.
our coal Jus, send. . wagon ,round tbrourb
,h.,owr ,rd Oh. driv.r ,ov.. ,oot into srerv
con, hi, and ,hrova In N mpcb M. ,bere.s room
Tor Iof,.n teel lIxe licking because he put, In
an much that Il roll. opt In front
NO We don,t know VIVA, 4, ia IN be cold in
o,r bou.es And we don't % hungry. eitber.
son,, be,iev. there. INV cias. Of neople what
i've. better than cool miners WHY Well.
aon,, ,no. MALAGA 1, "a ,b,, N coal NINA isp,s
.rch :. n .vfrI mic. Mac. IN sn.nd on.,a ,i,,..
.nd az w. m.r.u ,or I, who, I. "a, on,
"p,, 4, .In,, .o pnh.ol,bv M most neop,s
,hinr" in,errup,ed waltbur. 18th. most
,rouhi. TIN, coal miner. baya q. with ,h.,r
h.cr Tho, cams. from uortiny ba,a and gst.
rim, nil in n swca, and then sitting aronnd In
On. min. woi,i,g for ropr n.,, car IN co,n.
.Io,, Wan ,hera,s n or.,, hir IN, n, IN.
.n,,a,o. ~, t.o,s . ,,ro,, crrr.r, n, al,
,o,n, m rou,h m. n,ne aII the ,i,ns Navh. n
min.r,. o.r. vii, co,,. n,.,,y ,a., ,or n wbu.
ana h..u Ga, nil oy.rhe,,ed Then ,h.re,n be n
v.It IN, bs.rI be told tina, his NEXT car win
,on. in 6,,..n u,np,.. an q, dnn,, nav him IN
on op,.id. opd he'll sit down and whit for II.
.rh.-..s vb.n h. ,otes cold and m. rheum.,i.m
oct. hold ~ him. IN, we don't have luna
,ropbl.. M. many neop,e ,bink. WIN u,,v,
On, n,.n,v NJ old mon w,rkiny in the mines
men ,ha. have xork.d there nil their lives.
w.. 90, -. old man name ~ Nobie that.
about "a v.,rs old and he, as sprv rs anybody.~
Were you ever in an accident p,
.So.h I'm, rve s.sn ,em I be,,ed die ont ma
a. w. -, -. -. - ...,s.n,.
I. We aohl nave many olner aee,aeh'.-
ATM, mpch vatsr In ,he.sprinr We GET a good
a., -, surface water sns occa,,onailv ".
strike a strip Of clay tina, seems to be a water
course. when We do that. you may be pretty
sure some farmers lost his sprine.'
How much does a miner earn ~
We'll. that depends. We WORK By the pieos.
not oy the aay. we get oo cents n toh' anas
good miner can get out six tons q day. But you
-. -"
sometimes wen nave WORK r'sht along one.s
day for n couple OF months. and then tLere'll be
time, when we don't have more than two or
" ~" 80
three days work a week. Every man mas .
number, and he gets 80 many cars to fiji. As he
al. ,h.,, ,h.r,,. c,adi,.d "a his ,umber Each
NV e .'e ~
car holds ".Ooo pounds Inc cars are hauled oy
mules, each mule pulling i've cars. We have
IT. u,,.. So, Som.,tm.s ,ho, ,ov. "a NAH.
"S "'''' ~
the height OF the main heading. as we cali tho
main gallery leading into the mine, six or seven
,,oh.s hi,h., 70 .dni, . nar,;cuIarIv hiy mu,.
Nv 'k"e' "u'n. - nn
we've got one mule down there. name OF
Hannah, that's ~ years old. They wanted the
amu.,.,n ..,a h.,,n r.. 10 ~ y,rL %,
e'"p""' " gnu ~ Wy "e,e
this show. but the superintendent said. No.
air, Hannah's too old to be sent of that way
Thor ,oI. ,w,ri GOOD cav. n, h.r shs ain,
,u'' nv Wv isoo" ."'o W. "t' ."o
done a thing now Tor several years out eat ana
sleer. This mule we've had here. he's n New
WY mule and I gp.s. be djdp,, know inst
.mmn "u..'"nr ~ - 49,. ~ ,he dsrI
nn'' mS"."i w 49," !, 80.
nu. ~ . " "a raGy ,hInu. ~ - 'hs croyrS iSps
US 81 puNS eNpi"'HinE th,nss s'o"u linz