The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-13

business, for under the new law, no re- 'sponsible position can now be held by man in and around the coal mines who does not possessa state certificate of com potency.
 The midsummer examination, just oyer, was crowded with interesting features.
 The remarkable increase in the number Of men enrolled in the class is possibly the first significant point Thefe were no applicants for certificates in this exam ination, the largest class on record here. Last January there were 40 applicants, and in July of a year ago only 39.
 Certain of the most prominent mining men and engineers of the state are in the ranks of the applicants. Thus tech- nical schools and colleges from several states are represented. A large number of the men are students of the lnterna- tional Correspondence Schools of Scran- ton There is, by the way. tota. of 9ooo T. C. S. students in the Birmingham dis trict alone, mainly men and boys out at the mining camps, at work In the of
 flee of the companies. Of this number 37OO are what Mir J. l.. Whelchel, local
 division superintendent of the T. c. s.,
 terms '.suceessful' students, that is men
 who have secured good paying positions
 through their studies and are making
 good on their jobs. The first stepping stones to these state mine examinations are afforded by the correspondence schools.
 Origin of Mine Foreman Examination 1t is interesting in this instance to re- call that the first law requiring miners to pass state examinations of this. char acter was agitated and eventually se- cured through T. J. Foster, founder of the T. c. s. and present owner and ed tor of Mines and Minerals" In was this, in fact, that led to the creation of the correspondence courses in the first place.
 Said MT. Whelchel: "It was back in the eighties when Pres
 ident Fosters magazine now known as
 Mines and Minerals then The Mining Herald' of Shenandoah, took up tle mat ter of the need of state examinations. MT. Foster was profoundly disturbed over the dangerous mining conditions then existing in the Pennsylvania anthracite region and all over the United States, sand the frequency and number of fatalities. He put his fingers on the primary cause
 which is ignorance on tile part of the mine foremen of mining phenomena and
 science and of the principles of the ma chinery they are required to operate. So he started the ball rolling-to get this evi,
 
 foremens examinations
 For several years he worked at it.
 Meanwhile, his eye open for the interests of the miner himself, he instituted in the Mining Herald column of questions and answers, such as would give the key to the mine foreman and help him pass the examination. This, in itself, gradually led the way to the formation in 1s91 of the correspondence schools, in which there are now 1,5O000O students in all parts of the world. In Alabama we have s5,o00 stu dents enrolled, 95Oo of whom are in the Birmingham district"
 Scope of Alabama State Examination The questions for the written examlna- lions just held ranged all the way from the duties of a mine foreman and fire boss: through the various methods oi ventilation; instruments in daily use In the mines; kinds of gases and ways and means to detect them; hauage systems, timber setting; safety precaution, to near
 1y everything of immediate practical ap-
 pication in the days work. that could he
 put into brief compass. They call for close reading of the new mining laws, and altogether cover pretty wide field.
 "Its straight test of a mans prac-
 tical knowledge" said one of the en- gineers Every superintendent of coal mines ought, if possible, to have a first class mine foremans certificate Of com potency.
 Its pretty solid proof, you l:now--
 worth more than half a dozen sheepskns
 tied up in your trunk at home. It fresh- ems up your memory too, and hammers away at the practical end of the mining
 business. And none of us can get too much of that you know"
 The oraI eyaminatiOp which f0lluW9 the written, is exceedingly interesting. The applicant is shown a map of one of
 the big mines and asked how he would
 ventilate that mine by continuous cur
 rent and also by the split system. He
 must show, too, how he would arrange to fight fires in certain localities.
 He Is then taken to the blackboard and
 required to show how he would frame a set of timbers, on both a flat and q
 pitching seam. and-for single and double
 track sopes also to draw furnace and
 a. dam. tit
 The examination of the safety lamp Is
 thorough The applicant is required to
 take it apart and then put it together, so
 as to make it safe for-use in testing gas;
 he must show how to proceed with tho
 lamp when approaching place where an accumulation of gas is expected. He is asked such questions as the following: If you were walking along heading and you suddenly came In contact with d
 body of gas unexpectedly, what precau- ton would you use to keep your lamp from exploding?"i
 "In case you accidentally get in the dark while testing for gas, how would you re- light with safety?' ',What practical experience have you had in testing gas? State the time and Ia, ayI,a .ar oil o's
 Wisdom the Better Part of ValOr Several of the boys are wondering just what grade in this section of the exami- nation certain mining engineer made who, not long since, ran away from his safety lamp It seems that one day flown in the mines, before he caught on to the way it worked, MT. Blank was startled by seeing the flames in his lamp suddenly leave the wick and look as If it were going to blow him to smithereens. So he took to his heels, never stopped running even when he got on top. ', So the story on Mr. Blank has been going the rounds from Carbon Hill to Blue Creek There are those, however, who say the M. E. did well to run-con- sdering the kind of gas that lamp showed up. At any rate, all of the min ing men have been eager to know how he came out when Mr. Will Hillhouse |cross-questioned him as to lamps M Eight sections of the new mining iaws of the state deal with the qualifications and duties of the mine foreman and hre boss, and the terms under which certif1- cates are granted
 The examinations take place in January and in July, at the Chamber of Commerce building. While one week is allowed. 1t usually takes just about four or live days. The morning session opening at 9