SMOKELESS COAL FIELDS OF WEST VIRGINIA: A BRIEF HISTORY

3. Work in the Mines at the Turn of the Century

3 Work in the Mines At the Turn of the Century Coal mining was not 11 highly skilled occupation . Indeed, a man needed little more than a strong back and average intelligence to become a good miner. The miner often began work as a boy. There were then no minimum age laws, and most companies permitted" boy to work as soon as he was old enough to be useful-twelve to fourteen or so. A boy usually started out as a trapper (opening and closing trap doors between the sections), and often in an area where his father or uncle could keep an eye on him. The fifty cents a day which " boy might earn was an important supplement to many family incomes. The boy occupied the bottom rung of the mine hierarchy. Above him was the day man. He was usually an older man no longer physically able to load coal, or a youngster not yet experienced enough. The older men usually did track or timber work, while the younger ones drove mules. The day men were paid by the hour. The largest money earners among the miners were the coal loaders. The loaders were paid by the ton or by the mine car, rather than by the hour. The average miner never became- and rarely aspired to become-more than a good loader. However, an unusually able and ambitious man 34 Work In the Mina. at the Turn of the Century 35 found no great difficulty in improving his lot. This was especially true in the early days. when new mines were being opened with great rapidity. Operators were always eager to find men camp&tent to serve as foremen. A Minor's Working DIIY In J905 On being employed, the coal loader reported to the payroll clerk (always called "scrip clerk"), who gave him a payroll number and ten round brass checks with his payroll number stamped on them, for which he was charged 10 cents apiece. This was refunded when the loader quit and turned in his checks. The loader carried into the mine his picks, shovels, auger, tamping bar, fuse and a can of black powder. He was charged 50 cents per month for the Rervices of the company blacksmith in re-sharpening and tempering his picks. The coal loader left hi~ house about 6;00 A. M. If he had left picks at the blacksmith shop the previous evening, he picked them up and walked on into the mine to his working place. He wore a miner's hat with 1\ small lard oil lamp hooked into the hat, and kept at hi. working place a can of' lard oil and cotton wkking. He carried from his house a lunch pail, with food and a water bottle -thermos bottle~ were not then avuilable. There were two men at each room face and one man at the narrower entry faces. The man's partner was called his "buddy". If the partner was a beginner learning the ropes, he was called a "back-hand". Many of the foreigners and a few native Americans went into the mine an hour or 36 The Smokel... Coal field. of We" Virginia two before starting time and loaded one or two cars before the other miners arrived. After taking twc>-and-a-half to three hours to make an undercut, the miners drilled, loaded, and fired the hoies, bringing down the undercut coal. They then pushed up empty mine cars from the room mouth, loaded them, and returned them to the entry. They set the neCessary safety props, extended the room track as needed, ate their midday meal, and continued until the end of the shift (5 :30 p. m.). The miner put his brass check on a hook near the bottom of each car he loaded. The check was removed after the car was dumped at the tipple and the load credited to the proper man. Very occasionally, a thief would dig down into a loaded mine cal' and replace a check with the thief's own check before the car reached the tip.ple . This was regarded among miners as horse stealing was regarded on the old western frontier. Mining Methods At the turn of the century, the average coal mine in Southern West Virginia used no machinery inside the mine. The room and pillar method of mining was used, as illustrated by the accompanying sketch "A". The...