The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-15

a ton in 1908 and $2.61 a ton in 1909 while the prices for west Virginia coke for the two years respectively were g and $1.SS.
 Of more importance than this, however, Is the building up of permanent commun- ities and the elevation of the character of citizenship which manufacturing more than mining insures.
 Accidents
 According to Ed Flynn, the state mine inspector, there were 129 men killed and 50 injured in the coal mines of Alabama in 1909, as compared with 10S killed and 5S injured in 1908. The death rate per thousand men employed in 1909 was GA and the number of tons mined for each life lost was 106,514 In 1908 there were TOT, ,45O tons mined for each man killed and the death rate per thousand employees was 5.6. Of the total number of men killed in 1909 24 met death through ex- plosions of gas or dust. The most serious accident of this kind was supposed to have been caused by an explosion of dust | in April at$the Short Creek mine of the | Birmingham Coal and Iron company, 1T which IS men were killed. More than hali | of the total number of deaths were duo I to falls of roof or coal, 70 men being killed in this way. Ten were killed by I powder explosions and windy shots and | 25 deaths were due to miscellaneous causes. The fatal accidents in the coa mines of Alabama from 1893 to the close l of 1909 have numbered 1168. The causes l of the accidents and the statistics ol | injuries other than fatal are known only since 1906.. when they were first pub | Iished, as all the data which had beer | collected by the mine inspectors office regarding the causes of accidents prioi to 1906 were destroyed by fire. In the | four years from 1906 to 1909, inclusive, 48i | men were killed in the coal mines of the state. Falls of roof or coal caused 1Si of these deaths, 96 men were killed by explosions of dust or gas, fl by explosions
 of powder and 167 by other causes.
 Mining Machines and Wnsheries The number of mining machines report | ed in use in 1909 was 2S6, and the quantity | of machine-mined coal produced was g. | 200, ,754 short tons, against 1.7S3.516 tons by | 197 machines in 1908 The percentage of machine-mined coal to the total produc- | tion was 15.02 in 1909, against 16.37 in | 1908 The 2S6 machines in use in 1909 in- | cluded 194 of the pick or puncher type | "A chain machines, IT long-wall machines and pick shearing machine. or the total quantity of coal produced in Alabama ir l 1909 5,S63, ,396 short tons were washed at the
 mines, yielding 5,250,4 40S tons of cleaned l coal and 612,988 tons of refuse. Most oi l this washed coal is used in the manufac- ture of coke. There are also some wash cries operated in connection with cokine | plants at points distant from the mines | The coal washed at such plants Is moi l included in this statement. The difference
 of approximately 90,000 tons between ths production as reported by the state mine
 inspector and that shown by the returns
 to the bureau of the census and the geo.
 logical survey Is due to the fact that 1T | several instances the commercial produc | reported to the mine inspector was tht
 weight of the coal before washing. while | on the census-survey schedules the weigh
 of the washed coal was given.
 Development of Coal Industry
 So far as known the earliest record O the existence of coal in Alabama wal made in 1884. Tho first statement O production in the state Is contained il
 the. United States census report for 1S4O | when the production was 946 tons Th' census report for 1850 does not mention
 any coal production for the state. ant the next authentic record is contained fl the census statistics of 1860, in whicl Alabama is credited with an output O 1O2OO short tons. The mines of Alabam'
 were probably worked to a considerabl
 extent during the Civil war, but there ar 1 no further records of the actual produc tion until 1870, for which year the Unite 1 States census reports a production of Il, % 1 tons Ten years later the production ha increased to 232 ,972 short tons. But tn development of the present great indus try began in 1881 and 1882, when atten ton was directed to the large iron de
 posits near the city of Birmingham, an
 thus the great boom of that city am
 vicinity was started. By 1885 the coa
 production of the state had. increased l. nearly 25OO,OOO tons. Then followed pc riod of relapse and liquidation, .whicl
 lasted two years, after which business set
 tied down to conservative and rationa
 basis and has since developed steaoily
 The coal production of the state reache a total of over 10,00O000 tons in 1902 an
 attained the maximum of 14,25O,45f ton
 in 1907.