New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-06

n, s--,r+on penn an inha bitant Is not worried
when the foundations OF his house sink FOOT or
two Should he be awakened IN the night ny the
crcalanr OF tinabers and falling OF bricks' ne ons
turns over and mutters 20 his nervous "liei 20
10 sleep. It's only a cave-in.
P,,f IN the last month even the oldest citizens 81
Scranton have become alarmed. Even a Scranton
re- does not enjoy having his home take thirty
so~f dive toward the centre OF the earth
re really thinks the Joke has gone too Ear
~hen he sees the street front OF his house SUD
denly disappear finds That the bottoh mas
s~opped out OF his well Not long ago hotel near
scranton. without even giving notice TO It's
creditors made such a hurried settlement that II
landed IN an old mine. some hundred feet below
Tho story goes that most OF the guests were
little provoked and took the landlord 10 task Tor
not giving them notice.
down" said one patron who had registered from
NeU-York
a blooming bit Of underhanded business" re-
torted a Londoner
Others also took exception 10 the ability Of the
hofeI lyeeper 10 prop up the earth's crust when a
Philadelphia man exclaimed with wink OF the
eye.
our landlord knows his business. left orders
10 be walked I'D az O'Clock, and / was
Il understand Il an now" said a Chicago man.
''Sothing short OF an earthquake could have walked
up q Philadelphia"
Under many parts OF the city OF Scranton eN-
tend the tunnels OF anthracite coal mines In Ger
Fn0Ula
vii pass through three four separate mines
Tho first and second. most likely. have been ex-
hausted many years ago. and In the third or
fourth are miners now at work digging out the
seams OF coal Most of the business part OF scrah-
ton containing the stone Office buildings stands on
solid ground but there many residence dis
iricts which have been undermined again ana
again
IN the last month the ground IN several parts OF
the city has sunk such depth that streets nave
orort houses wrecked and In several instances
burned by overturned stoves Some OF the miners
Bet the story leak that the recent coal strike
Vas the cause OF the cave-ins. They said that
when they went back TO work they were hungry
Tor coal" and that they ''stole the pillars" OF
worked out veins ITO steal a pillar is to break
dosn the columns OF coal which are left In a
mine 20 support the roof According 10 one OF the
oldest mining laws OF Pennsylvania pillars OF coal
should be left after mine is entirely worked
cut 10 prevent the earth above from sinking. or
course they propped up the roof with umbers tenn
n0fariy IN order that they should not be entombed
While at work but the wooden timhers finally bent
OF broke under the tremendous strain
But the Scranton miner who returns home 70
nnd his house standing one corner does not
waste time talking about causes. He knows il
ain DO no good. He can bring lawsuits against no
one IN his deed II is distinctly specified that he
only owns a "little OF the top" OF the earth IN
IKE the real estate owner almost everywhere else
DID the world. he Is not lord over everthin beneath
his feet 10 the centre OF the earth His title holds
good only few feet deep. or perhaps TO the first
seem OF coal There a time when the coal
company which had bought the ground beneath
him was held liable II the roofs OF it's mines sank.
but the law has long been repealed.
Since the surface OF Scranton began 20 drop 20
unusual depths about month ago. its citizens have
had many az adventure which would seem 10 be-
long volcanic island OF the tropics. In one
house IN Eynon-st. which sank some twenty feet
IN as many hours. the cracks enlarged so rapidly
and the wind blew IN with such increasing violence
mat the family were compelled at last 70 beat a
retreat 70 the goodhouse. When they attempted