The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-22


 vision Electric shot firing was intro- duced several years later during the Top ping-Crockard administration.
 Electric Equipment Growing
 The Pratt Consolidated Coal company uses electricity in it's mines in much larger degree than is generally supposed. While Banner is it's only mine fully equipped with electric haulage, all the hoisting and pumping machines at Gamma, Colta, Blacree Heca and Wegra are electric. A central power plant at Gamma gen. crates power used by these mines. At Maxine there is another central station to supply power to the pumps. hoists ana washers of Coal Creek, At Dora No. 10 all electric generator is installed for the hauling and pumping.
 In this company mines at Tracy City gasoline locomotives are being used in stead of eelctric motors. And work out very well,' said Erskine Ramsay.
 Among other mines in which have been installed electric haulage and machines, are Warner and Sayreton of Republic Iron and Steel company, Dolomite of Woodward Iron company, Mulga of Bir- ming Coal and Iron company. Both Marvel of the Roden Coal company, and Young biood No. of the Bessemer Coal, Iron and Land company use electricity in large degree, A great many companies have electric pumps-the first step in the new direction Some mines have both steam and electric pumps gather with mules, haul with motors-uSe, in fact, little bit oe everything that goes.
 At that precise stage of evolution they could, of course, hardly be classified. Only three mines In the state have as yet adopted electric shot firing, T. c. l. Pratt No. and Pratt No. s, and Mulga. As this installation costs about 5000 in itself it is so far, to many of the coal companies here. castle in Spain idea.
 To see a coal mine Ion top;' to fol- low by series of photographs and blue prints, the main haulage ways the en- tries, the rooms; to examine a mine loco motive a Sullivan continuous coal cutter or a Jeffrey short wall when they are stretched out prone on the floor of the machine shop - lifeless, innanimate-to stand outside the mine mouth and see the men go below all that is one way to see coal mine, and doubtless is bet ter than none.
 But it is not the real thing.
 Enactment of the Great Drama
 One must go below for himself. And, while bearing in mind the fact that it's one thing to visit and quite another to be on the job, yet the visits, however brief, serve to strike light on business hat would otherwise remain vague, dim and forever shrouded, for first and last per- haps the impression of mystery and romance that enfolds q deep shaft mine like magic cloak; the risk. the dark, the unexpored-thls attracts every sense. Here, where the hand of Nature has been subtly at work so many thousand years. to see now the hand of man, slight and masterful, transforming for life's uses in such a little while, the work of countless centures-there is drama for you And, indeed, if ever there was a place where fancy itself may run wild riot, meet with foreign troupes of other fancies in these strange petrified forests, and all together go dancing down the dark, it is in a coal mine. 4ir"
 The very machines, huge shadow shapes in the sensitive deep of the cave liko rooms and winding entries, self-moving haunting. and all powerful, breed in the sense of the ancient dreams of old Hephaistos-his ancient works born anew. not in fancy but in fact, say, a Sullivan cutter!
 One of the wonders of the world-a ma chine like that. Take for instance one of the deep shaft mines of the state, one built and maintained according to modern lights-what is it underground?
 In the first place the order of the days work is as follows The hours are from ' to 5 o'clock; the men-some 250- as -cmble at the check house from which they pass to shaft No. and are lowered. The miners first job is to load the coal shot the night before, clean up his place, square up the edges and set whatever timbers may be necessary. He then drills his holes for blasting, after which the ma achine man. comes along and his places are cut.
 Hish Record Gained
 AS much as 456 feet of coal per day, aggregating 300 tons, have been cut in our mines by one man. That is the record. said MT. M IT. Fies; "the maximum. But ' s exceptional. The machines as q whole average each from 100 to 150 feet per day-or from so to 120 tons of coal"
 While the machine man is cutting his place the miner prepares his shot and his buddy loads out the ''bug dast,r or fine cuttings from the machine, ss
 There is total of about four miles of underground workings at Mulga. The engineering work of the mine has been done by s.. h. Morrow, chief engineer of the Birmingham Coal and Iron company. and lis assistant, ;hl Moore Mr Nor ; row has been in Eifmingam since l9tS.