The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-06-13

[tfteity upon tie sur lace pk the earth
| ttssfmpo rtances lar und ergronnd isg nnss
Known. Yet Just gaa e1ectrIcity has als
changed the whole lcomple of life,
above ground. so Isl 1T bringing about
asreTcld tlons in the operation ot the
mines that supply the country With
fuel. Where there was one 4 electric
locomotive I'm the anthracite coal
mines OF Pennsylvania aE decade ago
there are a dozen now; the hundreds
or feet OF trolley wire have grown into
thousands. Millions of dollars have
been spent upon the electric 1ocomo-=
tlyes. The ID power houses III and the
streng thening 3ot tracks n cessary9to
the Improved syst EN-. Il N; Il
The net work OF the. tracks In the
anthracite mines has spread until sths
Underground mileage Is almost as
greatSas the mileage OF the sso.called
.anthra cite road 81, on the surface.
With every year the gangwaysS are ex:
tended farther from the shaft !; and
the increasing len 9Th OF hauls the
problems sof derground transporta-
ton be come more serious: The result
Isl that the operat ion OF a coal mine
nowadays includes the opera tioni$ OF a
railroad system with intricacies and
difficult ties peculiar to itself. rs
Some i 1000 horses and mules are
still employed In and around the an
| thracite mines, but IN II many cases
mere distance has disqualified mule
] power. Compressed air locomotives.
though used In considerable number.
have proven less economical than cleo.
I!tric locomotives, and their use is not
apt to be- extended. There are few
steam locomotives in the mines. and
! there will Abe still fewer; in the future.
Combustion in any form Is not gdesira-
BILE in coal mines, on account Of the
risk of gas explosions. Is.
Within three years, 90S to 1906:
the numbe r Of electric locomotives; In
the anthracite Smines-thls does mot
include those at the top Of the shafts
grew from 81 to EOS. There were
only a locomotives operated by steam
in COG as against 40 In 903.s a "a e:
crease OF 1G per cent Compressed air,
locomotives Increased from CT to 1Oi
In the three years. f 4
Four Kinds of Motive Power.
Thus there are four separate AMI
distinct kinds Of motive power, .exclu.
siye5 Of the ;rope shaulage for steep
slopes. used In the mines: mules.
steam compressed air. electricity. In.
the volume OF work done, mules. at
this time. remain far In the lead.
Steam is going backward Compress.
, ed air Is about stationary. probably,
destined to lose Its Importance in the
future. Electricity ds the coming fac,
tor; 1t will make Roadway steadily. &
Managers of anthracite coal mining
companies say that the mules VIII
never be eliminated altogether. There
will always be certain kind OF work
which can be done more satisfactory
and more I; economically by animal
muscle than by any form of mechanl-
cal power. In the gangways produc-
ing small quantities of coal the install
lation of electricity would be imprac-
tlcable and wasteful. So s.
Every oneof the several kind OF
motive power has greatly. increased
in expense In recent years: A mine
mule that cost .s125 In ] so7 cost $24o
In 1907 The rise In the price OF
materials ran up the cost OF lnstall-
Ing mechanical appliances: The
iengthening OF the gangways and the
exhaustion Of q the more accessible
veins OF coal, however, have been the
greatest factors. for they have caused
attirect Increase In the amount Of
hauling to- be done; and transporta-
ton In the mines may be expected to
become more and more costly part
or coal mine operation MS time passes.
IL II, as mining got deeper and moro
difficult, only the old methods had
been employed. the cost of production
would have SO increased that the
price Of coal to the consumer would
have had to be raised. The resources
OF the mining companies have enabled
them TO install electric $ha1ilage sys'
tenn which are not possible in the case
Of the small individual operators
And, though tile cost Of mine trans
portatton must increase, the econ omy
effected by the expenditures upon cleo
trio Installation tend to keep down
land steady the retail price.
Il The Mules. & Il
Picked specimens OF mnle.flest
are brought from every. part of thu
country to the anthracite region In
!, northeastern Pennsylvania. The char
acter Of the work & Is such that only
the strongest animals are available
The demand began to press SO hari
.. upon the supply toward the end q
7 the last century that the price: Jumped
y rapidiyca One company found. e thu