The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-03
MAKING NEW FRIENDS

| NOW, then, here come the empty cars
for the coal which has been undercut
shot down and made ready to load each
miner putting his brass check in the
bottom of the car which the weighers
up ycnder in the ripple" get as the tram
cars deliver the goods.
In the meantime, about 10 or II miners
and our little party rested for a while
| as trips were being made, and l had a
| chance of talking with some of the men
was anxious to know how much money
these men make, and if they are satisfied
and the rest. AS l talked to Dutch
Charlie Kissell, nice young miner, who
| originally came from Ibolland CHATS
why they call him "Dutch') 1 couldn't
| help thinking how like minstrel show
| we all looked as We sat there, some 10 OIL
u of us all as black as the ace of spades
with Dolly as the sInterlocuter''
Il used to sell papers on the streets OF
New York." Mr.. Kissell told me, until
| went to mining; I've been at Sipsey
practically since the mines opened nearly
six years ago, and if I ever get fired
! from here I'll never mine another ton OF
coal as long as I live. 1 average $3Ot
d month: cut about 140 tons a day at Il
| cents tom
| Jesse McGehee (colored) told me that
| he made S135 a month, and could make
/ HiOlt eACcplnl Ter MS rheumatism.
| | asked about whether he d rather work
thin seam coal dixie he's now working)
or thick" coal. to which he replied:
| dis heah thin seam coal pays higher
| it costs heap mo- to git out; hits harder
ter work and in big coal dey ginnerly get
mo men dan dey knows what to do wild
crowded out, in other words" ~
Foreman Charlie Jones, who person
ally conducted our tour, told me that
| his npOnla Sptf1ad in, No1 Dor
it was known "Old Democrat" way
back yonder in 1917, before Alabama was
state, and that he'd been a miner since
he was II years old. mining coal in
three different states, and listen to this:
THE Sipsey folks are the best I've
ever worked for, and I've worked in q
Mines"
mention this to note the feeling of
contentment and satisfaction that pre-
walls among the miners at this partic-
ular place, where 500 men are employed
(on both sides of the river, of course; I
mean the river separating the mines) on
the day and night shift
And just one more expression from
an old-time miner, veteran, a pioneer,
Robert Bulger (colored).
"Yassum,' said he, Use 81 years ole
and meks one hundred an forty dollars
err month 'loadin:' Use gwine ter keep on
dom de bes' l kin fer myself heah, kaze
don know what's goin' ter happen
after I leaves dis heah wori !"
And then the trip came to take US
back, and boarding the tram cars = ain
we whisked rapidly over mary miles,
out of the 10 miles Of trolley track land
trolley wire) operated in the mines.
until we reached the bright, beau
tiful. glorious sunlight once more. and
following my ton of coal to the "tipple'
saw it being dumped on to the ''shak-
ing SCREEN which looks like "sifters;"
then the coal is separated into sizes.
when all over three inches is hand
picked and under three inches is con-
veyed by belts to a mechanical washer.
where it is cleansed of all refuse. rock
and slate, and is scrubbed and Numbered
and everything is done to it, except CIV
ing it hair cut and shave when
it is loaded into the railroad cars ready
for delivery.
This refuse is a dead loss, Of course.
you understand, as 1t cannot be used in
any way. shape or form for anything.
1t amounts to about S per cent. and the
daily output of the mines being 1000 tons.
this climbs up to 50 tons day; yet the