The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-03-09


 an underground city - that is the evolution of the coal mine. For city it certainly 1s, with streets and pass ages for the conveying of cars of coal and supplies and the journeying of the miners to their respective places" Thus begins a striking description of a coal mine by Roger W. Babson in 'fW. B Wilson and the Department of Labor
 The book is a discussion of the fu- ture of labor unionisn and concilia- ton in industry; tHe machinery, policy and organization of the Labor Department of which MT. Wilson is the first secretary and the secret of MT. Wilson's success in mediating be- tween labor and employees It also tells of the secretary's experiences as a coal miner.
 Mir. Babson has devoted much time to the study of industrial relations and the problems of business. He is head of one of the largest statistical organizations in America and former ly was chief in the information serv- ice of the Department of Labor.
 ''In digging out the coal, or under cutting, as the first process is called,'' says MT. Babs~n, "the miner must sit, crouch or even lie in an uncomfort- able position for hours, yielding his pick to get out the coal. Machines have been invented for cutting coal when found in certain conditions one machine originated in America in 1887, which is more widely used here than in England, where a diff fent type is used. But even where machines are employed, the begin ming must usually be made by hand, and in many places it is not feasible tn 7la Ia iT11x no iY1- ventfon of a machine in 1887 was of no use to young William CW. B. Will son) and his father in their arduous work, in fact, even today no ma chimes are used in the Arnot mines. Whatever the work or the manner in which the mining is done, the fact re- mains that any employment that keeps the worker underground is dis agreeable, dangerous and a menace to the health
 'sThe mine that little William Will son worked in was no better or worse than others of its kind. All mines are full of dangers and fifty years ago there were not many e the safety inventions that are in use today. Dan gerous gases are confined under ground and digging for coal frees them. Many of these gases are inten- se1y inf1amnable. Light is necessary for the miner to carry on his work, hence the danger of explosions is great.
 "One of the greatest inventions 1 connected with mining is that of the 1 safety lamp invented in 1915 by Sir Humphrey Davy. With the improve ments that have been made since in such lamps it is possible for the min | CTS, if careful, to be comparatively safe so far as explosions are con ! cerned. The slightest breath of open l light upon the dangerous gases is suf- ficient to cause them to explode and then partitions are burned away, smoke and fire roN through the pass ages, pushing their way up the shaft l and telling the workers that their fel- ] lows are being suffocated or burned | alive. At such times the men show 1 their heroism, many cases of most 1 extraordinary sacrifice of life to save l others being told in connection with l mine accidents. .... There Is always the danger of flood. An underground stream or 1 spring may be suddenly tapped and l the water will pour through the pass l ages, catching unawares the hapIess | workmen and carrying them to their 1 death. Many mines have to keep 1 pumps going all the time. Even when | the miner starts in on his days work, he puts himself in peril, for in going down the shaf+ in the cage he trusts | himself to the chains and ropes which lower the cage, and they may 1 give way and precipitate him to the floor of the mine.
 Necessarily the air in mine is 1 very close, foul and poisonous, even | though not directly inflammable. The | pumping of fresh air into the mines l and the extraction of the bad air, it's | foulness increased by the breath and eNhafations of the perspiring work men, is a serious problem, and many and various have been the attempts at it's solution. Usually systems are used with two shafts or wells called respectively the Upcast and the down. cast If there is shaft of any kind at the end of a mine, with connecting passa ges, a rough kind of ventilation or circulation will necessarily result
 but this will not affect the side pas sages and chambers not directly on
 this main avenue.
 "One plan which seems to give
 universal satisfaction is to have a specially constructed chamber at the bottom of the upcast in which is ar immense furnace in which a fire is kept constantly burning. The column
 of air above this furnace becomes
 rarified and ascends, while the cool CT air below rushes in and spreads itself in all directions to take the . place of the bad air. Ventilation fans for changing the air have also been brought to a great degree o1 perfection. But by any method, z
 strong current of air would naturally
 take the shortest and most direc
 course from entrance to exit, no
 penetrating the many offshoots iron
 the main passage.
 Therefore, there must be system
 of barriers and tight closing doors il
 such a way that the fresh air mus
 traverse all the windings and pene
 trate every part of the mine. In or l der that the current mt / be guided
 along the passages where it is in
 tended it sho-1d go, many boys ar'
 employed to open the door to al
 corners and carefully close them afte,