Birmingham state herald., 1897-01-26
MINING COMMITTEE Giving a Graphic Description of
 the Mine. POSSIBLE MINING STRIKES The Committee Thinks, Would Be Avoided by the Passage of Their Bil-An
 Interesting Report.

Spect, during the recess, the mines oL
 the state and report such legislation as
 would fit thesconditlons that were found
 to exist. An exceedingly strong commit
 tee was appbinted for this purpose and
 from Jan. to Jan. 16 1t devoted its time
 industriously to the work assigned to It.
 The committeesa visitedf and inspected
 twenty mines in this district andsits im-
 presslons are conveyed to the assembly
 in the following thoroughly interesting
 report which will make agreeable reading
 for every subscriber to the State Herald: Montgomery, Ala. Jan. 23. MT Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives. a < Your committee appointed under reso- lution of Mir. Hubbard, for the purpose or visiting the mining districts of the state and reporting to the house, after the. re- cess, the conditions existing in those dis tricts, together with a bill proposing such legislation as will conduce to the greaber development of the mining industries of Alabama, and secure to the miners the
 best protection ofsfffa and health and the fullest rewards of their labors, beg leave to report aS follosgS.uA v Your committee has visited a very large number of thesfnines. It has spared no pains nor inconvenience to arrive at a full knowledge of the conditions as they exist. With the cooperation of the trans
  has been enabled to leave Birmingham promptly atNSsaes % clock every morning -during theg iuves tigation and has spent ntne days Of It's sitting in going through the mines in the counties of Jefferson, Bibb, Tuskaloosa and~Walker. The com- mittee talked with tho miners in the slopes and rooms, with the operators in their offices, and with such disntereSted persons as they came in contact with. The committee believes therefore that it ie.i ,sin faf inf to make intelligent and equitable recom- mendations 7tosyour honorable body. For the information of the house, brief statement of the amount and dis trtbution of coal in Alabama may not be amiss. Our coal measures form the southern extremity of the great Apa- lachian field which extends from Pennsyl- vana southwestwardly through DOT tions of Afaryland. West Virginia, Vir- ginia,s Osao, Kentucky, Tennessee, Geor- derlie, in this state, the whole or portions of the counties of Franklin, Lawrence, Morgan. Marshall, Jackson, De Kalb Cherokee, Marion, Winston, Cullman,
 Etowah, Blount, Walker, Fayette, St. Clair, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Shelby and Bibb-
 The state geological survey of Ala bama estimates that the coal deposits of the state embrace an area of 8,6e0 square miles, although actual mining operations
  ! ties, viz: Jefferson, Walker, Bibb, Blount, Cherokee, Etowah, St. Clair, Shelby and Cullman. In only five of these, however, ! has the mining of coal assumed any large proportions, viz: fin Jefferson, Bibb, Walk | CT, Shelby and Tuscaloosa. a The coal region ofsAlabama is divided 1 into three distinct districts: That DOT | tion drained by the Warrior river and it's tributaries constitutes the Warrior coal field, with an area of about 7,S00 square miles.
 The Coosa field, drained by the river of that name, is situated in the counties of Shelby and St. Clair, and has an area of | about 40 square miles. ssr.y The Cahaba field lies along the Cahaba river in the counties of Shelby, Jefferson and Tuscaloosa, and has 390 square miles. The Coosa field has less thickness of coal measures than the others and pos sesses only two or three seams of work able size. Several mines have been op- ened in this seam, but none of them have proved profitable and they have practi- cally been abandoned. The rocks and
 seams in this field are more faulty than in the others. s &
 The Cahaba field is much richer. It includes the mines Sat Blocton, Gurnee, Montevalfo, Helena and Henry-Ellen. This field is claimed to have eleven seams of coal over two and a half feet in thick ness. Coke is made in large quantities at Bloeton and at other places in this district.
 The Warroir is, of course. the great coal field of Alabama, and perhaps of the world There are about forty seams in this field, fourteen of them being ex- ceedng two and a half feet in thickness. In some places the vein Is as much as eight feet. The Localities nt this field where most mining is done are: Pratt mines, Mary Lee miness the Sloss con- panys mine and others near Birming- ham; Blue Creek mines, below Bessemer; several mines at New Castle and War rior, in Jefferson county; Cordova, Ivey Leaf, Carbon Hill, Galloway and Corona mines, in Walker county; Brookwood and Coaling, in Tuscaloosa county
 Coke Is made in the largest quantity from the coal of the Pratt. the Sloss com pany's mines about Coalburg, Blue Creek, Brookwood and Ivey mines.
 It may be of interest and profit to the assembly to be informed as to how a coal mine is planned and laid off. This
 is done very much on the principle of the planning of city. First wide open ing is made in the side of hill. If it enters vertically, it is called a shaft; if at an incline, slope; and if horizontally, a drift. When the coal is reached, this opening is driven through it, and con- stitutes the main artery or avenue of the
 mine. About every 400 feet along this avenue crosss streets are dug, and, on each sdesof These streets are cut open ings into the coal, which are known as
 rooms and from which most of the pro-
 duct of the mine Is 1dug. Ample par titions, called pillarss are left between
 these rooms % as tosfurnish bracing for the roof of the mire f= asN- The process of producing coal is full of
 interest. A miner goes with his pick and
 his little cap-lamp deep into one of the rooms. Sometimes it is 5000 to 10000 feet from the opening His only illumina- tion is his miniature lamp.zWith his pick he digs away at the base ofthe coal seem until he has cut the length of a pick handle into fhe bank of coal Then, with an auger, he bores a hole near the roof, of about the same depth, puts in some powder and the explosion tears the mass of coal away. It is then loaded in a, coal cart, drawn by mule or other power to the outside, measured. and screened by means of great shaking sifters. which dump the lump in one place. the nut in another and carry the fine coal, the dirt, etc.. to an immense machine known as a washers Where, by yiEofouss agitation in'i water. the foreign substances are all washed out and the pure fine coal, which is desirable for coking purposes, Is de- posted intact
 As will be readily understood. one of