The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-18

cents gallon and cents day is fair average for a miner, but not for driver or a trackman A miner burns about one-third of a pint a day
 The Tennessee company's No. Pratt mine on a mining price of BYE cents in the year 1897 showed the twenty best men working an average of 19.3 days per month made an average wage of $916 while the ten lowest men working an average of 17.60 days made an aver age wage of s1.99.
 At No 8 Blocton mine the average of the twenty-five best men showed an av- craze earning of $4.3l. Average days worked 17.6. The low men showed an average earning of $2.64. Average days worked 16.
 The Blue Creek mine showed an aver age days earnings for twenty best men of $4.42. with average days work of 16 days and the ten low men earned an average wage of $2.7S and worked 14.s days
 The average of all the men for the first six months of 1903: Room men at Blocton average tonnage 6.33 average earnings $S 16. Blue Creek, average ton mage 5.62, average earnings 2.57. Average earnings of all room men $262.
 The average earnings of all the men at all the mines was $2.S4 including room men, heading men and all on sliding wage scale.
 In making up tables we have not shown when a man fails to work why he did not work.
 Adjourned for recess. Reconvened at p. m.
 Blocton Coal.
 MT. Bacon resumed:
 The coal mined at Blocton is used both for steam and domestic purposes. l do1ft know the percentage used for each I don't know its quality. I don't know it's price. I don't know what price we get. The information is all on the books in the office and we will furnish 1t if the commission desires. In 1902 the hold lngs of the company were worth about $23, ,OO0, 900. I arrived at that by adding the bonded debt to the selling price of the stock. I don't know what our 442,O0O acres of land Is worth.
 The Tennessee Stock.
 The stock of the company was selling at 43 a few days ago. With the stock at 33 my estimate would be about s15,o00,0 900. I don't know what the salaries of the employees of the Tennessee company amount to.
 Judge Gray says that the salaries of employees is not germain to any question at issue The board don't care to go into this matter. It Is not of any importance.
 Witness resumes. I don't know what the company gets for the coal mined at Pratt City. It costs about $500 to build a coke oven. All of our coke ovens were built before I came. l do not know what it costs to keep a coke oven in repair. l don't know how many coke ovens the Tennessee company has. I think some- thing like 5000 ovens. They don't produce five tons a day each. I have no idea how many tons of coal are charged daily to a 72-hour coke oven. l don't know how long the walls of a coke oven win last. I am not familiar with the life of the walls. I don't know anything about the necessary annual repairs. When iron sells at sS.50 and 37Ha cents a ton is paid for digging coal, I would not consider 6 cents a ton fair price when iron is sell ing for s13.5O per ton. It might not be too much if iron was selling at s1s.Oo a ton. Our men are, from my best lnfor- nation. working about seven hours day l would not be satisfied if they worked s hours. So far as know the coal miners of this district are law-abidIng citizens
 In answer to questions by MT. Fair ley-The Tennessee company owns Al. 900 acres of land. I don't know how many acres the company mas bought since l6Jo. will furnish the information to the board. I don't think any furnaces have been built since 1895. We are now build ing one at Ensley. It will be modern furnace if we have the means. This Is being built out of the proceeds of the sale of our Sheffield furnaces.
 All of our betterments, etc, are being paid for out of our earnings which ac- counts for our not paying dividends.
 Steel Plant.
 MT. Percy states that the steel com pany has built a steel mill. It is a sep arate corporation. continued the witness, and the plant at Ensley is built from the proceeds of the sale of the stock and bonds of the Alabama Steel company. The company was formed by the Ten nesse Coal, Iron and Railroad company.