davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24
PUTTING OUT AN
UNDERGROUND FIRE.
1T HAS BEEN BURNING
NEAR H4LF n CENTURY.
Destroyed Hundreds of Thousands
of Dollars Worth of Coal-
Other ENDURING Flames.

Efforts to extinguish the great fire that has
ragged in the old Greenwood mine. near Tarna-
qua Penn, in the SchuyllEill district, for forty
eight years at last meeting with success.
This mine blaze has baffied experts for almost
half a century in which time it has destroyed
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of coal
and has prevented the mining Of a large body
of the fuel which is worth. according to esti-
mates, two millions of dollars, and perhaps rlore.
Coal companies are not garrulous about their
property values.
In 1853 a miner, hUrrying out of the coery
after days work. allowed his lamp flame to
touch oil soaked timber. He did not notice
that little spark remained, and that the cur-
rent of air blowing into the mouth of the mine
famed the spark until 1t baZed and began 20
eat its way into the snoring.
The next day when the miners went into the
colliery the gangway was mass of fire. Water
turned into the shaft without effect The
fire grew and spread and the mine was aoan-
doned. The vein of coal i'll the mine was sixty
feet in thickness on an average, and the aban-
donment of the operation meant Il heavy loss TO
the owners Many of the best engineers in the
country studied the problem of quenChi1g the
flames, and after years OF effort they confessed
TO finding themselves bafled.
The coal below water level was saved by the
millions of gallons of water kept in The mine,
but above the water level and into the heart or
the great mountain, hOneycOmbed with VEINS OF
coal. the fire has gnawed and advanced
The time came when the company was ANXIOUS
TO get at tho vast quantities of coal below the
water level but before the protecting flood can
be drawn off the fire must be eXtinguished. In
his last annual report Lewis \. Riley president
of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company,
announced that efforts 10 this end were meeting
with success.
Modern mine frefghting methods are as
much an Improvement those of fifty years
ago the modern mining methods over those
of the earlier periods in the coal industry But
still the engineers and frehghting experts of
the SChuyikill region faced big problem when
they ordered by the coal company to cx-
tinguish the Greenwood blaze. map of the
fire swept workings was first examined, and
after much effort = plan evolved. But the
accom- pIishment was to cost over $1,000 900 and
take more than two years. Work was started
in the latter part of 1906 and is advancing
steadily AT DrPScut
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24
SPECIALIZATION IN INDUSTRY.

This specialization in industry. where one man
all his life makes only Il fraction of an article
and has no chance TO learn all the processes,
cording to observers. has, with the introduction
of machinery killed the apprentice system and
has resulted in a falling off of skill among work
men. The apprentice came in with the guild
system. where he was able to learn all Of
trade and TO make a finished article under the
personal supervision of a master workman In
the old days boy could be apprenticed to
tailor and in two or three years learn to make
a suit of clothes himself. To-day in large
tailor shop he could learn probably only one
operation Al time and TO master the whole
tbirty-nine needed TO make q coat would take
him seventy-eight years, If he spent two years
learning each occupation And lie still would
have to learn cutting and pants making ana
''Vest tailoring"
Der of apprentices and helpers in sixteen skilled
trades constituted only 20 per cent of the
workers. The highest percentage of apprentices
was among the machinists-0.S6 per cent.
Yet these trades, according TO educators. can
be taught and at least a preparation toward
trade school education can be given in the ele-
rnentary public schools. At present the children
who should go into skilled industries find moth
ing in the public school curriculum to help them
in their ambition, and as d consequence nun
dreds of thousands Of boys leave school every
year before they have completed the course n
relatively small proportion of these deserters
quit because they forced by actual want
A new era in which boys viii be trained for
the skilled trades along scientific lines, at pub
lie expense is coming through this industrial
education according to those who have been
studving the problem Among the people gen.
erally they observe q growing realization of the
need for radical improvements i'll the system or
elementary education to enable it to meet the
unsupplied demand for skilled artisans
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24
PERPETUATING OLDTIME CUSTOM

\edr BeOreezin, in Hungary. is a fire Ub,.s
has lasted for thirty-seven years II Is l.sr4
IN consonance with an old custom exis+ir.. - -
the family of NJ. AyyaTi, a local landed ~
prletor. When NJ. Avyari was horn tbt-..
seven years ago, the fire was lighted II ~,
not be exttnguished until his death In .hawu wul
mousse exists another fire. eight years old I,ss sns
on the eldest sons birthday This in f1,-,,@ Si.esl @
De kept alive until the sons death and 1si WI
an helr shaH be born to him third fire vviIi in ~
HSHteu. IN the eighteenth century four a ue
were gong at the same time, the eldest 49, 49,
tnat OF the great grandfather the youngast is tss
OF his great-grandson 81 'hat
III siam Is a fire which not only Iasts .
years but has 'lineaI descendantsp IN q 3D. Tor
temple at Bangkok the priests every fo,IrtI -SNse
l ear uSht fresh fire in a big brazier ~!
Hre IS Kept alive for four years and exrin,;Las las
aIter supplying a brand to light its s1,oot Sslst
me practice has been carried on for n,ore 49, 49,
Two centuries so that. in sense the Bansloi..
nre is the oldest in the world sNoA
a lre Tor the extinction OF which +be a.,
Pehaity is imposed has been kept aIfvs f
seventy years at Sarhad Persia The Psr-tr IOr
hreWorShlpping faith with detestation D..
nearly three-quarters Of a century ago a ri
farSee, who had come to Sarhad 70 trada Poua
aged TO save the life of the Persian Grand w.
from aSsaSstnS. The Shah out of f-ra,i+,,r I.r
ordered that the fire lighted by the Parsee sboI;
never be extinguished; that it be kent aT-i
forever under penalty of death should n 10
allowed to go out %
sometimes economy is a motive for kaoi-
up fires. The Esquimaus of Northern Ssibnrgs p.-is
lind the lighting of fires a matter of great 5;sI q
Guilty. To diminish trouble they keen tbo So
alive. sometimes all winter, though Wool is 'sa o
tremely scarce 'S eN-
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24
WORK FOR MANY MEN AND BOYS.

With the reclaiming of the mine employment
will be given to one thousand men and boys
and around the base of the mountain will spring
up a mining village. while to the properties of
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company will
be added one that is still worth in excess of a
million dollars.
There other mine fires in the anthracite
region. The Baltimore, the Empire and the Jer-
Sey mines, near Wilkes Barre, have been b,,rp-
ing for twenty-five years but one of them or
mension of the big fire that has ragged in the
Greenwood colliery. A similar fire has burned
nearly ten years IN Southern Russia In 1897
an underground confederation took DIaca in
coal mine In the DonetS district. All attempts
to extinguish IT proved fruitless and there is an
unbearable heat suffused over a wide district
blaze 0u''N
In various parts of the world there are fires
smaller In dimensions that have been long burn
ing. AT SlapStones, near Osmothery a Village
on the yorkshire moor, in England, Is an unpre-
tentiOus inn called the Cheouers which deT,lit :,
Its commonplace name and appearances boasts OF
the possession OF q fire that never goes out The
inn has been in the occupation of the Sayro o.
lily for more than one hundred wears on5
throughout that long term the fire in tho Kitchen
has never been eXtinguiShed. The onIv british
LNai ,! 10 lle Ire NJ Slapstones comes long wav
behlnd. y DONEGAL publican named HalIoran
has a fire which has not been exting1ished Trr
twenty years. A'i
But fires that have lasted for hundreds 20
years are comparatively common in other narts
or the world. Tho ancient fire worsbtnnars 90
Persia Kept drcS alive for centuries ana ~
practice is kept up by the Parsees their modern
descendants. i4'
1t is an article OF faith with some of tba semi
savage tribes OF Portuguese East Africa never
TO let fires go out. The local superstition is
mat every time fire Is cXtinguished a hIn,a,,
being goes to death. A man who Iirbts q S-H
and deliberately let's IL go out is SET ,1Do, = h
the tribe and killed. His death expiates +bS
crime and Is supposed to prevent the death OF
some OF his comrades. -
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24
SUMMED UP BY STATES.

Briefly, the situation may be summed up by
states as follows: Maine has had nominal pro
hibition since 1850. and the state is now prac-
ticaly dry following the passage of bill
giving the power of enforcement TO the state as
well as TO the counties. New Hampshire has
local option, and Vermont adopted local option
law a few years ago In Massachusetts one
third of the cities and towns license the saloon.
The laws are strict and well enforced. Rhode
Island is one-third "dry." Connecticut has a
plan Of town local option. The license towns
are I'm minority
New York has few dry towns. New Jer-
sey prohibits liquor selling Sunday. License
prevails in all the cities of Pennsylvania. Two
thirds of the rural districts under prohibi-
tion. Delaware and Maryland about evenly
divided. About one-half of Virginia is dry
and the same condition exists In West Virginia.
North Carolina is following the example of
be in the prohibition column soon. County local
option prevails in South Carolina. and there are
seventeen dry counties out of forty-one. Pro-
hibition will go into effect in Georgia on Janu-
srv /. 1908 Florida is looked upon the next
recruit to the ranks of prohibition states now
that Alabama has followed the example of
Georgia
Mississippi may beat Florida in the race to get
into the prohibition ranks There is little desire
for state prohibition in Louisiana, although
seven-eighths of the country districts are dry
Tennessee excludes saloons from all but three
municipalities in the state. Only fourteen out
OF the 119 counties in Kentucky are wet"
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24
WATER AND COAL DUST USED.

Instead Of pouring water alone upon the
flames a mixture of water and coal dust. or culnl
has been used. 1t has been found that this. in
a certain degree of consistency, washed into the
workings, is the most effective agent that has
ever been used in extinguishing fire. The blaze
is in the pillars of coal at the sides OF the work
ings. and the wet CUlm smothers it wherever it
touches the fire working is filled, and the
wet culm not only cuts off all air from the fire
but dries and becomes solid, forming almost as
good support for the roof as the coal that was
originally there. Inch by inch the fire has been
smOthered. a burned out working closed and "A
new support for the roof formed.
Vt the Greenwood this plan has been followed
by the engineers on Il huge scale. Scores of six
inch bore holes driven through the noun
tain from all angles toward the fire. These al
lowed the gases to escape and carried the culln
water into the workings At the edge of the
SChuylkl River a large boiler house with four
100-hOTSepoWcr boilers was built, and these ram
two pumps, each with capacity of loco gall
Ions or water a minute THESE pumps sent
through ten-inch piping, to the mountain top,
distance OF 10000 feet. some three million gal
Ions Of water each day.
At the TOP of the mountain the water was
turned into big troughs and into these also
empted the cuIm brought by the trainload from
the big Cum banks at Hauto. two miles away.
The mixture was then poured continually down
the bore holes and gained foot by foot upon
the fire. In a few months the engineers CalCU-
late that the mine VIII be reclaimed. In the
two years Of flushing with the average of three
million gallons OF water daily poured upon the
fire. the workings viii have been flooded with
an immense volume of water in excess OF two
billion gallons, with which were mixed thou
sands of gallons of CuIn.
As quickly as it became apparent that the
Culm Poured into bore hole had reached all
the fire than it could a bore hole was
driven nearby. The ChuteS were movable and
the process was repeated This done over
and over again. There no outward sign of
the fire except the gas or steam escaping from
the bore holes. At places along the mountain
side are cave-ns whore the fire has eaten So
close to the surface that the weight has crushed
down the supports and the top has fallen in. ~
OtncT places where the vein OutcTODped the
ate it's greedy way the surface. leaving sulIen
gaping mouths wide omen for more fiIeI
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24

headquarters. in addition to the provisions made
by each of tn subsidiary companies to take care
of its territory.
In the storerooms and yards supplies OF
poles, cable wire, cross arms insulatOrs and all
the other accessories for repair work Close at
hand are kept trucks and horses ready TO rush
whatever is called for TO the nearest railroad
station at any hour Of day night. Frequently
special trains chartered for transporting ma
terials over long distances And when the
trouble shooters" have been brought close
10 their work the railroad can take them they
find i'm waiting teams 10 carry them the rest OF
the way.
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24

Ohe nre, lighted with tinder or matches o. :,
ways Kept alive. two tribesmen being cor,St-s al
on tIe watch Fires for domestic use ara Iiv,,tS
Cd by taking brand from this chief fire sr1s- M
t Snendhst logic IS that these latter are not -aa1
HEeS' not having been kindled by art{sstt
means means fhey are merely parts OF the great fi-s
thelr extinction causes no harm tes
IN lJOS a Bradford (England) man ka,t =.
study fire burning for seven months becaTs HEs l
q dream In this dream he saw his fire sud,Is-,y.. .
80 out and the next moment he Imagined ~
was bankrupt and starving Being sorne,s le
superstit1ous, he insisted that the fire he 20 :
up railing heir to large fortune al the -, . ,
pI W che year ne is now engaged in spending I.
having seemingly forgotten the dream y
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24
FROM WASHABLE TO ANIMAL KINGDOM

The handwriting Of pr. Buckley the Methodist
editor, is somewhat illegble. On one occasion.
when he was 10 deliver Il sermon on "Oats and
Wild oats, he sent an announcement thereof 10
one OF the religious Weeklies. Imagine his mingled
chagrin and amusement when it appeared i'm print
that he would preach Cats and Widcats''t-
LippincOtt's.
New-York tribune., 1907-11-24
THE ALABAMA CONTEST.

In the struggle just ended in Alabama many
arguments We're advanced by both sides It
has been said that the Negro question has done
much 10 hasten the adoption of prohibition. In
the rural communities, where the vote was solid
FOR the abolition of the saloon. the trend has
been in that direction all along, but there can
he gainsaying the assertion that it is the
negro who has caused the unaningity of feeling
shown at the present time.
Authorities declare that before the negro had
hquor given him he was the best laborer in the
world Rarely at the present day is the abstain
ing black a criminal The saloon brings
out the worst in the negros nature, and for this
reason the state sought emancipation from the
liquor evil.
On the ether hand. representative business
men have aligned themselves against state pro-
hbition. They say that the cities should be
allowed to regulate the traffic for themselves.
Competition for laborers is so keen in the South
that organizations and committees whose func-
tion it is TO distribute Immigrant labor meet
with varying success in their attempts TO divert
any large quantity of labor to the South. Op-
ponents of the present movement argue that
with the sale of liquor forbidden by law it will
be next to impossible to carry on the present
industries of the South. let along trying to work
its undeveloped resources. Such are the habits
Of the average immigrant they say, that he
cannot be induced to settle IN a community
where he cannot secure all the liquor he desires.
feature Of the opposition to the prohibi ion
bill in Alabama was the presence of five hun
dred women from Mobile. They protested
against its passage. for in Mobile all the income
from the liquor licenses is devoted to the
schools. in spite of all opposition, however, the
vote in the State Senate last Tuesday was 81
10 . in favor of its passage. The bill had been
passed previously in the House 1t provides for
state prohibition after January S. 1909.
The spread of prohibition sentiment in the
solid South" has been little short of marvel
lous South of Mason and Dixons line there is
not state, with the exception of South Caro-
lima, that does not show large majority of
its counties and population under d dry regime.
In the north the dry territory is increasing.
Maine has long had a prohibition law. Her
,leighbors, New Hampshire and Vermont, which
discarded prohibition few years ago for local
option. show increase in the number of dry
communities after each election. In the Middle
West and on the Pacific Coast the Prohibition
lists report unexpected progress Recent politi-
cal campaigns showed the Importance of the
liquor question as an issue.
New-York tribune., 1907-06-23
A ROMAN FIND.

The Hiddcn Mausolcun of Trajqns Parcn,a
From The Academy
The Commentators Boni delivered an inter-
esting lecture on Wednesday afternoon in tho
rooms Of the Royal Society on the object If
Trajan's column and the meaning of its dedica-
tory inscription, "Ad DecArandVm Qvantae-
Altitudinis. Mons. ct Iocv5. Tdntis. O:.eribvs-
Sit. Egcstvs.' Archrologists have believed on
the strength Of the inscription that the column
was raised to mark the height of a hill which
had been removed in order to level the Forum.
and that it probably never contained sepul-
Chral chamber. 1t would appear to have been
easy to set this latter doubt at rest before now.
hut it has remained 10 the commentators 10
discover iU the pedestal l0nphOlc similar 20
not serve for that purpose by this very simple
indication ne found III the inner veStthule Of the
column door which had been walled up and
covered with plaster He cut away the masonry
and discovered within two chambers. In the
inner chamber were the remains Of a funeral
table. and above II, at opposite ends. ~" h"irS
drilled in the walls. Tho commentators con-
cludes that 10 these were fixed stanchious which
supported two urns which rested on the table.
An inscription preserved in the Vatican L1pi-
Garium states ;hat Hadrian erected temple to
lis PARENTS which stood close To- the column.
The ccwUcutatorr seems. therefore, to have
fairly established a fact that the column was
erected Is Il mausocum over the ashes Of Ira
jan ana P0tiua. the PARENTS Of iiadri3n-
As regards the inscription, IL" CONNIE nd1t"re
has. We hold arrived at { conclusion still moro
convincing. but We think. merely negative He
dug pits near the column and trench across
the whole valley which contains the Forum. At
tho l.y.l where the suhstrata of the supposed
hill would have lain he found in their place re-
mains Of carly imperial and republican work,
such as foundations and drains. In particular.
he found traces of a wall built Of blocks Of tUfa
exactly similar to the sill! existing foTtitic3torS
On the slopes cf the QuiriuaL Ii is evident that
these are the remains OF the fortiicptioas which
I..yy mentions rs having been huiit after tie
retreat Cf the G;,us in the fourth century. TH'
existence OF any hill occupying this spot u
therefore @uUnIaaty disIruVcd without the
coIutu,uGatorcs further arEumcut "'uGh 81" 90
not consider would bc very conclusive in Itself.
lie has discovered that the column is SO oN-
actly one huuircd feet high that the length "t
tho Eamgu foot has been NOR accurately fixed
in accordance with it, lie argues against the
;rol alility Of 4 hill existing Of such accurate
,.,,silr-. .II.. .lt. Surely vutUfuH1 ccnicnArit
being a Starcpi yrc, might we'll have been choS IL
t. mark the removal Of a hill oi about th2t
height. We cannot accept trr CoiETnC LddtoTcS :
rositi.e explanation Of the Inscription as very
CorVInpin%. He considers I to refer 10 the
i,r,4It and proportions Of the buildings on the
icv,.i Of tlc Forum UIpium and on the slope or
the ncighburing h.N. We cannot follow him in
extracting t!ss meaning from the Latin words.
witch remain tC Us aS Ette cAp!lC&bie rs he4oFc
New-York tribune., 1907-06-23

deed he often contents himself by, indiGatinF ~.
] ~ WI eotbcs fTa rorr"cti"n tblt he would
have made The Emperor also loves TO clothe In
artistic form the thoughts and hopes mat NOV NOV
good Of humanity. and in n" form Of procIaindi-
to wide Or, again, hc viii honor In TINS
way the memory Of our national heroes. Or ho VIII
give an artistic form to llr hlri'".!a7 ,tt, i !, -
stlf-SacrifCc in the dlSCNaIE" OF duty NI'h II -
present the ImIorors hand is ready t" civ" form
and substance TO his idea, Just rs 10 many a d.a4
according the Empcrors sketches and orders
and if ,iIilh Ttisti form 70 tn vshifs which at
first sight appear TO be hopelessIy inartistie.
Sculpture is thought to be the Emporor's IA
vorite art-hc has said that if he had not been
born to a throne he would have liked t" te
sculptor. He has made sketches To guid" IN"
sculptors Of various memorial statues in Berlin
and here, perhaps, little pity for the sculI
tors, or at least for Berlin may not be out #
place As for architecture tho sovereign is
given TO correcting the plans for new public
buildings and is said TO show excellent tas,o.
Here are specimens of his comments on draw
ings: This is too much like barracks It has
40 clearly recognizable style" This is not -
Gothic door. There are no round arches in
Gothic; otherwise it is W,U designed" 4 truly
admirable phase Of his interest in architecture ia
the care with which hc has caused to bc restored
the old palace OF the Tcutonic knights, at Ma
ricnburc. the Roman Camp on the Saalburg ana
the ruins Of the old German castle. Die Hoh-
KGnissburg," in Alsace It is said that in hi:
personal dealings with artists hc is scrupulously
careful not to fetter the painters or sculptors
individuality" A. painter himself he is par
ticuarly fond Of representing the sea.
An amusing story is being told about the re-
cent visit to Germany Of a company of British
journalists. When they at Sans Souc the
Kaiser talked with them. He Nas hardly pre-
parcd for what follow ed
One Of the editors prcscntcd to the Emperor be
;,an to talk about IIeinc and qUote from his works
Iieinc is Of that editors favore poets How
could he know that Hciue is anathema To the whole
Of official Germany from the All Highest down
ward, the ground Of his very marked de, ,estaton
every thing that they consider 10 be worthy and
Of good report? Hcine loved Germans and Ger
many but lie loathed and never spared aristocracy,
Tnilitarisu OiiciHdom pompOSity, harSh!esS and