The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1915-09-16

has extracted money even from a d,
funct newspaper. Being advised by
junk dealer that old zine etehine
were worth 5000 a ton, receivers Of
newspaper, which suspended publica
ton a few years ago, found that III
"morgue" contained nearly 500 pound
of metal which they promptly sold.
Pull Out Old Mine Pillars.
As always men are risking thei
lives to profit by an immense increas
In the price of anything the worl
needs. 1t is profitable now to worI
mines long since abandoned. TIL
usual method is for a dozen or so min
ers to band together and lease al
abandoned shaft.
The mine proper will be probabl,
an immense chamber 500 feet long, 1Ol
feet wide. The former workers viii
have left many pillars supporting tn,
earth above and these pillars contain
rich ore. The new ~proprietors selec
such pillars as they think could b,
spared and shoot" them. II the roo
does not fall on them they have ton,
OF rich ore ready to be mined.
Pulling pillars" is a dangerous bus
mess, but 1t seems that proprietors Of
a mine are permitted to take what
ever chances they choose. Hired work
ers are protected by mining laws and
mine inspectors see that the laws are
obeyed.
OF the 10 men who leased the Long
acre-C Chapman mine at Neck City, six
were intombed on the night of June lG
when a flood of water, mud and tail -
ings rushed into the chamber in which
they We're pulling pillars. They were
rescued after many days. 1t Is pre-
sumed their work had loosed the wa
tiers confined in the Century mine adj
joining.
The chamber in which the men were
working was 700 feet long, 200 feet
wide and 100 feet high, and the thrush
of water filled it to a depth of 90 feet.
1t will be easily seen that a pillar loo
feet in height with a proportionate
circumference would contain many
tons of ore.
Boom in Player Pianos.
OF Is young men who hav 70 taken
over the old Fortune Teller miae two
have bought (for CASH player pianos
and two have bought pianos. The r..
L. Burke Music company of Joplin al
so sold four $300 taking machines for
cash to men VINO had MADE their
money on the rise in jack.
There is no recognized miner-' union
in the Missouri -:ar sas- Oklahonia zine
mining district and no foreign labor.
The workers are nearly all drawn from
the Ozark mountains. They are usu-
ally big, outstanding men, who work
hard and are not averse to taking a
chance. They like to speculate, From
earliest recollection seven-up has been
the favorite indoor sport of that sec
ton.
An operator who is a large m
ployer says machine men who former
ly got $2.75 a day now get "a, and ma
chine helpers get $3.50 instead of $2.25
a year ago. Shovellers in some in
stances get as high as 10 cents a can,
whereas six cents was paid a year ago,
and in some instances 81 a day bonus
is paid when they work the whole day,
Laborers say these figures would not
square with conditions throughout the
district. However, $35 and $40 a week
are not exceptional figures for the
week end check of shovellers.
No Chance for Outsiders.
There is no need for additional la
Dor in the district, but there is need of
improved methods in mining which
will make conditions better for those
now working there, and the operators
are moving steadily toward better
The Southwest Missouri Mine Safe
ty and Sanitation association, COM
posed of some so operators, meets on
each Thursday in Webb City at a
luncheon. All talk of organization or
oil unions is taboo. These things
are discussed elsewhere, but the as
ISOLATION plans for the betterment of
the laborer.
Consumption is ~strikingly prevalent,
due to rock dust and powder dust and
water in the mines. Nearly all the
progressive men now employ drilling
methods, in which a stream Of waite
plays in the drill hole, thus laying that
lust. Blasting now is done at night,
30 that the dust will be laid when the
workers come to the shaft.
Pumps keep the mines free of sur-
plus water. Indeed, the supply men
say that so many old mines are being
up that they have difficulty in
supplying pumps and other machin-
cry.
The United States bureau Of mines
also has borrowed DR.. LAMA from the
national health service and he is sta
toned at Webb City fighting tubercu-
Iosis.
The prosperity of the Jack country
Is, however, only for those who know
business. The investor needs
the advice Of the most capable expert