The Washington times., 1919-11-01
Times Reporter Lines
Week With Coal Miners
% To Find Out Conditions
Continued from First Page.)

dent, just go up to the office and /
will. find him for you"
The superintendent office is a
small two-room shack, in which all
the business of the mine is trans
acted.
Two young men were at work.
One twenty-five years of age and
just out of the army after twenty
one months in France, and the other
seventeen years of age.
"You> can take things easy now,
but after November l you go into
uniform and police this mine, do you
hear?' the elder of the two was
saying.
"I'm not eighteen yet" said the
boy, "and I'm not old enough to
be deputy"
When the superintendent came in,
he looked me over and said: "Say,
you can't go into the mine in those
Sunday Clothes" 1t was an old suit
that | had worn for just that pur-
pose.
Lamp Replenished Every Hour
With Water and Carbide.
l was fitted with rubber boots, a
blue jumper and miners regulation
cap and carbide lamp. This light is
the only light a miner has to work
by. 1t furnishes a small flame about
the size of the flame of a tallow
candle. The lamp is replenished
every hour with water and carbide
The miner takes an extra supply of
carbide in his pocket and water bot
ties are to be found at intervals
in the mine.
1t was explained to me that where
there are dangerous gases, electric
lights are required by law. Former
ly kerosene lamps were used exclu-
sively. They we're found to be un-
safe and were outlawed. ~.
The superintendent, formerly a
practical miner, was my guide.
Superintendent get from 5000 to
$40O a month.
The entrance to the mine was a
hole in the side of the mountain. 1t
was little more than five feet high
and about eight feet wide. A door
covered the opening. A big fan,
loperated by electricity was just out
side. The door was kept shut to
force the air back into the mine for
ventilation.
Miners Sometimes Walk
Two Miles from Pit Mouth.
Into this hole the miners 60 to
work each morning. They walk to
work. If the coal face on which they
are working is mile or two from the
mouth of the pit, considerable time
is consumed in covering the distance.
When ] got inside that hole, the
warming to keep your head down"
was too late, for whenI started
walking erectiyN my lead got a
severe bump against the slate roof.
Before ! had progressed far, l
realized the need of proper attire
for such a trip.
From the roof and running down
the sides of the walls the water
trickled. This condition, however,
obtained for only about two hundred
| feet.
The roof Of the mine is just as high
as the vein of coal is thick. In this
particular mine, the vein runs about
four and one half feet. In some Sec
tons of the coal district, the vein
is six to seven feet thick.
Roof of Mine Only Four and
Half Feet Above Car Track.
In this mine, with its roof only
four and one-half to. five feet above
the little car track over which
stumbled, it is difficult for six
foot man to make rapid progress
He has 10 crouch as he creeps
along through the long black hole.
| AS we plunged deeper into the
bowels of the mountain, l began ia
feel as. if | was being swallowed ur
by some great monster.
at is $50 feet from where YOU
are standing TO the top of this hill
said the guide.
/ had feeling of great oppres
sion-l felt as / raised my shoulders
against the roof above that the
whole mountain was weighing down
on me. | thought of Colossus sup
porting the world on his shoulders
AS / staggered forward, it was
necessary to remove my lamp from
my cap and carry it in my hand, SO
as to better guide my feet as they
slushed through the black mud that
at times was foot deep. l longed
for ray of sunlight and breath OF
/ fresh air.
While this held my attention,
frequently forgot myself and the
height of the roof, so l would
straighten and raise my head to re-
lieve the terrific pains that were
developing in my back. The result
invariably was a bump on the head
that would send me spinning around
Had To Step Aside
For Passing Coal Cars.
During our progress through the
hole, which may be likened to a
main street, we had to step aside
and hug the walls while a train of
small coal cars drawn by a small
electric motor car numbered by with
! a deafening roar.
These .coal cars hold about two
tons of coal. There are twenty to
thirty-five to a train.
Each car bears a number, for