New Britain herald., 1928-03-03
EARTH RELUCTANT
 ID GIVE UP COAL
So IL Must Be Mined With Iron
 Will and Muscle

coal fields, mites rva,ivrs of Tn. Herald to take a Trip to th, kev- stone state. and visit an average an ulracite coal mine. H. ,aya:
 Imagine IL subrerrau"4n Ia.sa 2. much the same as a rabbit hole. unly larger Into this passage run railroad tracks. couspicuously mark cd in the center with large wooden spool. foot or more in length. upon tlae surface Of which is q we'll worn groove The passage. or ''>lope" run down, hundreds Of fegt under ground, into :, dark tunnel.
 Into tl.is tunnel every morning beginning at o'clock and contiu- ning t, intorvuls during the day. comes a little open top coal car. It's rassase down the steep slope is re- turded or con rolled by a steel ca hlc, an inch thick running to a nearby engine house Il ls the Wear and tear from the cable which makes the groove iu tLe wooden spoolS.
 "Thc lnifurm''
 Let us take Il ride on the cslI, or wagon as II is called. First M. must dress 1le lart. W" dou oVvr- ;tlls and smoek and climb iii over 1he top with q number Uf other mon. Lach man carries 6 round pail or dinner can of tin, anl {; two quart bottle he calls his "co.irv bottle" he Nc are told that when new il was N!iite. Now il is black. greasy and tusty. \ right angular piece of very :,ff leather extends rom the peak O. his cap straight llp and back 10 where Il k riEe1cl 10 the top with t"aNy copper riVtt~. Two holes .X- tend down through the top of 1Ao leather. In one hol, h. hooks (. small open flame torch. known as |; miner lamp" In thr other q I-eee of copper, the thickness of a !" penny nail. with q ring on one eLJ and a point on 1h, other. This h. carries 10 keep tn" wick or "cot- 1on' in luis lamp pulled out To point Wher" he gets ''a large tlame.' S, with leather soles half inch thick. "tudd1l with hob nails which extend tStir round heads in five rows the full length Of tn" sole. beyond th" leather These nails are not counter sunk.
 Sometimes ha wears canvas gloves. bn his face there arc peculiar blue sfreaks under the skin. On his lands there, arc similar stroaks These are said 10 he the scars Of wounds from which tho coal dirt I yer was thoroughly cleaned.
 This is a picture Of T coal miner
 Now we have our man. all dress ed for work. Let's go. Our miner ;uids stands alongside or inside th" cHr. He reaches out and pulls crude sheet iron lever. 10 which is attached 9 long wire. "ping. ding" Ne hear the holl in the engine house. Tn a moro modern mine he may push an electric button. IT. either case the engineer has re- raiN"d the signal. he opens q steam valve. pulls a throttle, throws his reverse lever over and an immense drum, upon which is wound hun ,r@ls Of feet of steel cable, begins to rcvolvc. Next to it similar 1tum rc>olvrs the other way. As one cable unwinds the other winds, Thus tue engine, propelled entirely by steam, operates one car in each di- rection at the same time.
 Down Into the Earth
 Slowly at first, gathering mo- mcntum as We pass out Of th" day light into an impcnotrablc darkness, the ear descends. We see nothing but the shadow of timbnrs or sup ports 10 the surface. revealed in the fhckcring flames from our suile's lamp as We go by.
 We see the ''crihhing" the wood- cu walls on the sides of the slope. resembling pictures Of log cabins. Upright timbers or logs support cross timhors. which in turn sup port the walls Of earth from crash ing in.
 We hayo reached the bottom. It vas 9 breathless trip. our guide says mat out Of consideration the engi- nacr let us down slowly. We hope he never lets us down rapidly. We climb ont of the car.
 Now We notice ve have gone down on one side Of a double track. That black thing which flashed past IS. half way down, with rattle doafening din. was the up car.
 We sec tracks going off in sev- eral directions. with numerous switches at the foot Of the slope. Tunnels lead of from a central point We are unable 10 see very far ahead because of the darkness We take q path alongside of on" of tn. tracks and follow our guide. Indian fashion
 The air is cool but not cold. Much to our surprise. breathing here is pleasant We have not noticed any gases or other fumes, except the smell Of burning fish oil' from the lamp of the guide. Overhead water is dropping continuously. rc lninding Us of rain. We arc sur rrised. yet We do not know why We should bc. to learn that springs in the earth above arc leaking through the roof. Our path is flanked by narrow gauge railroad tracks on one side and an open ditch full of water on the other.
 The Indispensable Mule
 Suddenly something bars our  pa ssage. It is a large wooden door. | much like a crude barn door but wider. Our guide gives 8 signal and the door pens--automatjcallv it seems We learn that young men are ] paid weekly salary to do nothing hut open and close these doors. They are properly listed as door boys' and their jobs are considered |