1898 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

346 REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF MINES. Off. Doc.to be very beneficial in insuring a greater degree of safety to theworkingmen, and much better sanitary conditions in the mines havebeen secured. With careful and methodical managers in charge ofthe mines there should not be any necessity for leaving any of thecoal seam go to waste in them after all the narrow work has beendriven and paid for. The system which prevails now at some of themines in the district of carrying the room road up the center of roomsAvitli the idea of not recovering the room ribs, thereby leaving atleast from twelve to twenty-five per cent, of the coal seam go to wasteis certainly an outrageous mining method. All room roads should bekept close to the room ribs with the view of extracting all of thecoal. If improved methods of working out the coal seam wereadopted and good drainage maintained, all room ribs (unless in a fewexceptional cases) could be taken out safely and economically, especiallywould this hold true in mines where the coal seam lies abovewater level.Ventilation.In order to maintain good sanitary conditions in mines at allseasons of the year, even after a change in the system of workingout the coal seam has been inaugurated, where air courses of largearea have been driven and the great multiplicity of doors, which arenow in use by reason of working by the single entry system eliminated,it is still necessary to substitute reversible fans in the placeof furnaces at the mines in order to secure efficient ventilatingpowers. At present nearly all of the drift mines are ventilated byfurnaces and in nearly all cases the furnace shafts are shallow withthe top of them located on the side of the hill from fifty to sixtyfeet higher than the mouth of the drift openings or inlets, and owingto this difference of elevation between the two openings at someseasons of the year the natural forces (difference of pressure andother agencies) are acting entirely "against the furnaces, thereby almostdestroying or at least greatly reducing theii- efficiency. If, however,reversible fans were used, these natural forces could be utilizedand made to assist, at all times, the mechanical power of the fans.If all these enumerated improvements were accomplished facts at themines, there is still another important factor to be considered in connectionwith this problem in order to secure the beneficial results weall so much desire, and that is, the mine foreman. In order to obtaingood results, the mine must be in charge of a conscientious, intelligent,active and methodical nune foreman, who shall attend strictlyto duty, attend to all of the details of the mine, such as kee]»ing agood sujiply of materials in the mine for necessary use; keepingthe aircourses and ditches clean, seeing that he brattices for guidingthe air currents are kept in good condition and that strict