Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-10-29
#tistellaneulls 8eading.
THE LIFE OF A COAL MINER.
How He Begins and Ends His Career
an a Breaker "BOy."

How He Begins and Ends His Career
an a Breaker "BOy."
The Rev. John Mcdowell, who was
once a coal miner, gives the follow
ing sketch of a miners life in The
Worlds Work for October:
I'm IL years old, goin' on 49," said
the boy to the boss Of the breaker. He
didn't look more than 10, and he was
only 9; but the law said he must be II
to get a job. He was one of multi
tude Of the 10000 youngsters Of the
mines who, because miners families
are large and their pay comparatively
small, start in the breaker before many
boys have passed their primary school
ing. From the time he enters the
breaker there is rule Of progress that
is almost always followed. Once a
miner and twice breaker boy, the up
ward growth Of boy to man, breaker
boy to miner. the descent from man.
hood to old age, from miner to break
er boy; that is the rule. So the 9-year-
old boy who Is "12, goin' on 49," starts
in the breaker. He gets from so to 20
cents for 10 hours work. He rises at
$50 o'clock in the morning, puts on his
working clothes, always soaked with
dust, eats his breakfast, and by
o'clock he has climbed the dark and
dusty stairway to the screen room,
where he works. He sits on a hard
bench built across long chute through
which passes a steady stream Of bro
ken coal. From the, coal he must pick
the pieces Of slate or rock.
1t is not hard life, but it Is con-
fining and irksome. Sitting on his un-
comfortable seat, bending constantly
over the passing stream Of coal, his
hands soon become cut and SCARED by
the sharp pieces Of slate and coal, while
his fingers nails are soon worn to the
quick from contact with the iron chute.
The air he breathes Is saturated with
coal dust, and as rule the breaker Is
fiercely hot in summer and intensely
cold in winter. In many Of the modern
breakers, to be sure, steam heating
pipes have been introduced into the
screen rooms and fans have been placed
in some breakers to carry away the
dust. But, however favorable the con-
ditions, the boys life Is a hard one.
Yet it is a consistent Introduction to
what is to follow.
The ambition Of every breaker boy Is
to enter the mines and at the first op-
portunity he begins there as a door
boy-never over IA years Of age and
often under. The work Of the door
boy is not so laborious as that In the
breaker, but is more monotonous. He
must be on hand when the first trip of
cars enters in the morning and remain
until the last comes out at night. His
duty Is to open and shut the door as
men and cars pass through, which
controls and regulates the ventilation
Of the mine. He Is alone In the dark
ness and silence all day, save when
other men and boys pass through his
door. Not many Of these boys care to
read, and If they did it would be i'm
possible in the dim light of their small
lamp. Whiting and whistling are
the boys chief recreations. The door
boys wages vary from IS to Is cents a
day, and from this he provides his own
lamp, cotton and oil.
Just as the breaker boy wants to be
a door boy. the door boy wants to be
driver. When the mules are kept In
the mines, as they usually are. the dri-
yer boy must 60 down the shaft In
time to clean and harness his mule.
bring him to the foot of the shaft and
hitch him to a trip Of empty cars be-
fore Z o'clock. This trip of cars varies
from four to seven. according to the
number of miners. The driver takes
the empty cars to the working places
and returns them loaded to the foot of
the shaft. They are then hoisted to the
surface and conveyed to the breaker.
where the coal Is cracked. sorted and
cleaned, and made ready for the mar
ket. There are today 10000 drivers in
the anthracite coal mines. These boys
are in constant danger. not only Of fall
ing roof and exploding gas, but of be-
ing crushed by the cars. Their pay
varies from $1.1O to $1.25. from which
sum they supply their own lamps. cot
ton and oil.
When the driver reaches the age OF
20. he becomes either a runner or Ia
borer in the mines, more frequently the
latter. The runner is conductor who
collects the loaded cars and directs the
driver. The laborer Is employed by
the miner, subject to the approval OF
the superintendent, to load the cars
with the coal which has been blasted
by the miner. AS rule he Is paid 50
much per car. and definite number
Of cars constitute a days work-the
number varying in different mines
averaging from five to seven. equallins
from 12 to Is tons Of coal. The labor
er's work is often made difficult by the
water and rock which are found in
large quantities in coal veins.
There are $4,000 laborers In the an
thracite mines Of Pennsylvania. each
one of whom is looking forward to be-
coming a miner in the technical sense
of the word-that is, the employer or a
laborer. To do this a laborer must
have had two years experience in prac-
tical mining and be able to pass an eX-
animation before the district board. If
he passes he becomes a contractor as
we'll as a laborer He enters into a
contract with the company to do a Ger
tain work at so much per car or yard
He blasts all the coal. and this involves
Judgment in locating the hole. skill in