1898 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

xxxii ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc.All the other officers of the lirrn have been chosen for their experienceand their adaptability to the offices they fill. The interestsof the company have been their interests, and the name and fame ofthe corporation carries with it an undivided praise for their service.The general offices of the company are in the Carnegie Building,Pittsburgh, Pa.February 23, 1898, Mine Inspectors Evans and Knapper calledat the office of the Bureau with mai>s of Mt. Vernon No. G mine, theproperty of the United Colliery Company, together with maps ofOcean Ko. 'Z mine, the property of B. W. Coal Mining Company, forthe purpose of advising as to the proper course to pursue in view ofthe apparent danger to the persons employed in the Mt. Vernon mine,the Ocean :Xo. 2 mine having been abandoned, allowing a larg-e quantityof water to accumulate with sufficient head to break through thebarrier pillar, as shown on the mine map. After a careful examinationof the mine maps, the action of the Inspectors was endorsedin causing the operation of the mine to be suspended until the dangerwas removed. This suspension took place January 29, 1898.Nothing more was done until March 21, when the company concludedto pump the water from the Ocean No. 2 mine, the owners of whichsoJd them the entire plant of hoisting engines, boilers,pumps, etc.,which were still on the property. After pumping several weeks,iiiaterially reducing the head of water, a hole was drilled at a pointwhere the map showed the pillar to be 10 feet thick.The hole wasdrilled 37 feet G inches without cutting through the pillar, showingconclusively that there was something wrong. On April 22 I wascalled to Philipsburg to consult with the mine superintendent andInspector regarding the great diliereuce shown by the bore hole,from the map. Mine Inspectors Evans and Hampson were alsopresent, when it was agreed that another hole should be drilled notless than 40 feet (if it did not cut through sooner), and in case thewater was tapped, preparation made so that the water could be drawnoil' at will, and a gauge attached that would show the pressure ofthe water. The hole was drilled 51 feet and did not cut through thepillar, showing a difference of nearly 50 feet at the point where thehcle was drilled, from the mine map, which shoukl be an objectlesson of the necessity of botli acu-urately surveying and plotting theworkings of a mine. Where this is not done, the possibility of greatdr.nger to life can readily be understood, and while no lives have beenlost in this case, the persons employed in the mine must have sufferedconsiderable loss. Notwithstanding this, the Mine Inspector wouldhave been derelict in his duty had he done otherwise.February 28 I was called to Scranton by Mine Inspector EdwardEoderick to consult with him regarding violations of the mine law