The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1901-09-05

has been opened by the Garfield Coal
Company. The coal in this mine, so
far as it has been developed, is of
fair thickness, averaging more than
five feet, and the mine promises to
become one of the large producers
of the county, Several fair sized
basins of coal have been located
southeast OF the Garfield property
ana their de gsirpmeut is only ques-
tion of time. | am informed that a
new mine will be opened south. east
of Colon, with shipping facilities over
the Chicago aud North Western rail
road Prospecting is going on in
different parts of the county but re-
suits at this time are not definite
enough to base predictions on as to
whether the tracts prospected con-
tain coal enough to warrant develop
ment.
or the mines now in operation in
the county having railroad con-
nections, eight are located on the
Chicago & Northwestern railroad,
eight on the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific and one on the Iowa Central
railroad.
Mechanical underground haulage
is largely in use. Two endless ropes,
seven tail-ropes and one electric
motor convey the coal to the shaft
bottoms and three single ropes in
slopes pull it to the tipples. The
electric motor in use in the Pekay
mine seems to do the work satisfac-
torily, and there is no doubt that this
kind of haulage is a success, if con-
ditions are favorable. 1t appears to
be not economical in mines, where a
solid road bed cannot be made and
maintained at a moderate cost, and
where many and variable grades have
to be run over.
The provisions made during the
last two years to insure the safety of
those employed in the mines of the
county have been satisfactory. Ten
air and escape shafts have been sunk
and other cOmmendable improve
ments have been made to render the
mines as safe as possible. OF twenty
seven fatal and non-fatal accidents
occurring in the county in the last
two years, none was caused through
the absence or faulty construction of
safety appliances.
All the large mines and some of the
smaller ones are ventilated by fans.
Nineteen are now in use in the coun-
ty, eighteen of these are run by steam
and one by electricity. These fans
provide more than 375, 900 cubic feet
of air every minute to ventilate the
mines. More than the minimum air
volume per minute required by law
enters each ofthese mines. In some
of them, however, the air current Is
not strong enough to remove rapidly
the great volume of powder smoke
due to the firing of many shots at the
same time, and the miners working
in them are therefore compelled to
labor, for time at least, In an at
mosphere that is decidedly Injurious
to health. l have spoken of this
matter before and again urge the
operators, IL the practice of twice-a-
day firing is to continue in these
mines, to increase by some adequate
method the volume of air going
through them Immediately after firing
time.
In the year ending June 80, 1900,
Mahaska county produced 1,235, 1898
tons of coal, the gross earnings of
the miners in that year amounted to
S7Ss, ,249 90 and other employees re-
ceived S406, ,865.00.
During the year ending June 80,
1901, the mines of the county pro-
duced 1, ,072, ,493 tons of coal, shrink
age In production of 163, ,440 tons as
compared with the preceding years
output; the gross earnings OF the
miners were s77T, ,742 90 and other
miners received s403, ,264.0o.
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