The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-01-30
Machines Replace Human Flesh in Digging Coal
By ALEX REID.

system of mining, and incidentally one
of the changes is an addition to the
ranks of the already large army OF
unemployed miners.
In the southern field of Illinois
where natural conditions are good.
with solid roof and rock bottoms,
machinery has displaced human labor
power to comparatively large degree.
With the latest addition of loading
machine which is displacing about 80
percent of the miners, the outlook is
black, indeed, for the miners.
The development and installation OF
mining machines has kept pace with
that in the most mechanicalized indus
try and, viewing the large economical
mines in southern Illinois, it is hard
to figure where any more machinery
could be placed
Whereas, prior to the Introduction
of the loading machine, miner load
ing behind the cutter would earn
around $40 per S-hour day for loading
about IL tons of coal, today with the
aid of the mechanical loader, about
twice the amount can be loaded per
man, at a fiat rate of $500 per eight
hours, per man.
With the introduction of the loader,
the system of mining is also being
changed and a great saving to the
coal baron is the result. Likewise the
system is being attempted behind the
cutting machine where the mechanical
loader is not in use, whenever physical
conditions permit.
The machine is now taken to the
boundary of the room or entry, and
cut clear down the pillar to the other
end of the working place, generally
a distance of $50 feet. This system
has taken the miners from the ton
mage rate to day rate basis.
Prior to this method of mining the
leaders received SO cents per ton, and
earned about 5000 per day, while to
day they load about twice the amount
OF coal in places for $S.04 a day.
This method of removing the pillars
OF coal, that was formerly left in the
mines, between rooms and entries,
has given the coal barons twice the
amount of coal with approximately the
same amount of expense for rails,
timber, etc, and resulted in great
economy to the owners.
The miners have suffered from this
change in various ways. A few of
them follow: Increased production,
speeding up by the machine, forcing
out of employment the older men who
are physically unfit to stand the pace
and who are thrown on the scrap
heap to starve after a life spent in
the mines.
Another injury is the comparative
reduction of wages, due to the estab
lishment of the day rate, and in
creased production for that day rate,
in comparison to the wages that had
been earned for less coal under the
tonnage basis.
The machines have resulted in the
loss of, or the worsening of the work
ing conditions of the miner. Truly |
the miner is becoming more and |
more a mere object, slave to the |
machine. Conditions which have been |
fought for in many better industrial |
battles are being ruthlessly destroyed, |
while the miners receive no aid what
ever from their officials to combat |
the process.
The large mines are almost COM
pletely mechanicalized. 1t would be
hard indeed to find where improve
ments could be made. Let us ex-
anime this process of mechanical in
stallation in the mines.
The system of pulling off cars OF
coal on top of the mine gave way
TO the self-dumping cages, from which
the coal was dumped without the cars
leaving the cage, and this in turn gave
way to the coal being dumped into |
skips In the bottom, holding 10 or ~ |
tons and then shot to the tipple by |
electric hoists. Where coal mines with
a production of 5000 tons were con-
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