The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1916-05-27
PROBLEM Of TRAINING Miners
DISCUSSED BY ALBERT BURCH

a manager n consulting engl-
neer for the Goldfield Consolidated
Mines company and one of the fore
most mining engineers and mine
operators in the United States, has
contributed to the current issue of
the Mining and Scientific Press an
interesting article, under the title:
THE American Boy and the Mine.'
The text of Mr.. Burch's letter fol-
lows:
When 1 was beginning my mining
career, the Irish and Cornish, with
a fair percentage of Americans,
swung the hammers and placed the
timbers in the mines west of the
Rocky Mountains; while American
boys, recruited from nearby ranches
and country towns, shoveled the
muck, pushed h cars and did
much of the surface work about
the mines. Even at that time a
few miners and good ones, too,
were beginning to arrive from Aus
tria, and timbermen from Finland
and Sweden; but the great influx
of mine laborers from southern
Europe had not yet reached the
western states.
Today, especially in California all
this is changed. In such old min
ing centers as Butte, Park City,
Tintic and Grass Valley We find the
sons and grandsons of the old
time Irish and Cornish hammers
men running machine drills in the
mines; but even in these districts,
most of the common labor is per-
formed by newly-arrived immi-
grants from southern Europe; and
in many other western mines. near
ly all underground employees are
from the same region. In other
words, the American boy as a pros
pective miner has practically dis
appeared.
Much has been written since the
beginning of the European war re-
garding it's present and future eff
feet upon European emigration; and
although all are agreed that while
the war lasts emigration will be
practically nil, the views of writ
ers as to what will be the condi-
ton prevailing after the war are
quite divergent. Without taking
space in this letter to give the e
sons for my belief, | include my
self with those who think that for
many years American immigration
from all parts of Europe will be of
much smaller volume than for the
years preceding the war.
Where then are we to look for
the mucker of today who must be-
come the miner of tomorrow, un-
less American boys can be in
duced to take up the work, as they
did 80 years ago? Furthermore, is
it not within the range of possibility
that a general improvement in the
intelligence of the miners of the
future may be brought about by
training American boys, instead Of
European peasants for the work?
/ am not among those who subscribe
unreservedly to the sentiment that
the best qualifications for a muck
err are "a strong back and a weak
intellect" and while not wishing
to belittle in any way the hard
grinding work performed by immi-
grants from foreign lands, I believe
that most mine foremen will agree
that it is easier, on the ground OF
a better understanding of the Ian
guage alone, to train a willing and
Industrious American boy than a
raw immigrant. And on the same
ground, of the better understand
ing of spoken orders and printed
rules, greater aid is given to safe
ty of operation and prevention of
accidents.
The writer recently visited 4
mine where underground sorting OF
ore is necessarily practised and
where after months of training, the
work of the muckers vas still n
satisfactory. In part, their fail
ure to do good work was due to
lack of knowledge of the language;
and in part, l fear, to lack of ma
tive intelligence; but, whatever the
cause. the mine is losing hundreds
of dollars per month because of in
efficient sorting.
1t has been said that the Amer
lean boy, as found in the country
districts and small towns of Cali
fornia, will not work, and certain
ly not at such common labor as
soils his hands and makes his back
ache; and, I fear that as condi-
lions now exist, this is all too true.
But American boys have, in the
past. worked as common laborers,
and the writer We one of them.
But, they will not begin work
of that character If they see that
If is hopeless for them ever to