good repair. In unimportant locations a single door may answer the purpose very well, but at points subject to much travel or the passage of trips, double doors are all important. The distance between double doors should be sufficient to permit the longest possible trip of cars to stand between them. Primarily the use of double doors is to keep the passage-way constantly closed, as the second door should never be opened until the first has been closed. It will also be seen that another advantage lies in the reduction of the loss of air by leakage, consequent upon the increased resistence offered in the employment of two doors.

In hanging a door, care should be taken to make it rest closely against the framing, so as to reduce the leakage as much as possible. To the same end the parts of the framing and of the door which come in contact, should be covered with canvass. The framing in its construction should be inclined for the purpose of causing the door to close by its own weight when open.

At all important doors a trapper should be in constant attendance to open them when required and to close them immediately after the passage of a trip. The opening of a door simply to permit the passage of a man or mule has an effect on the air current, as a portion of it is allowed to waste, and this loss is still further increased if the door is not well constructed and carefully hung. Unless doors located at important points are promptly closed and kept closed after the passage of trips, the required ventilation cannot be maintained. Yet it is a common occurrence at some mines where trappers are not employed to find drivers not only leaving doors open, but frequently leave them propped open until they return with a trip. This is a fruitful source of producing defective ventilation, and which defect may be complained of to the Inspector by the miner, and the remedy remain unsolved until the cause is discovered in the driver.

The cure for this is with the pit-boss, whose business it is to watch for all such neglect and insubordination, and if he has not the courage to discharge the guilty person, he should see to it that a trapper is employed. That ancient method of using curtains instead of wooden doors is still in practice in several of the mines, in some of which, these curtains may be found on main entries, where the full current of air for the entire mine has to be turned. There is at all times a great leakage of air where curtains are hung, even when in the best possible condition, and this is especially so when a curtain is hung on a main baulage way. At all points where the course of the main current is diverted, a tightly-built wooden door and not a curtain should be hung.

Experts on mines and mining, referring to the use of curtains, state as a scientific fact that curtain doors should not be used on main entries where the current is so strong that the pressure of which will hold up the curtains and permit a large portion of the air to escape. I fully agree with them and go further, giving it as my conviction that curtain doors should not be used in any portion of the mine. I have noticed many of them on my visits to the mines so badly torn that I would take nothing as a preference. The importance of well-constructed doors cannot be too strongly urged upon the attention of mine superintendants and foremen.

It has been well stated in a previous report and will bear repeating, that though a mine be ever so well equipped with powerful ventilating appliances for the supply of air, with large, clean air-ways and a sweeping current entering the mine, and yet if its doors are not properly hung and cared for, perfection in other appliances will avail nothing. My experience for the past year in the mines of the State induces me to emphasize the importance of this matter upon all parties interested.

MINE MAPS.

The importance and necessity of possessing an accurate map of a coal mine is not recognized by mine operators, to that extent which its usefulness deserves. Many operators regard the requirements in the matter of mine maps as a nuisance, and prepare them only when in close proximity to boundary lines or to satisfy the demands of the law. A good map of a mine—one that can be relied on-is of great value to anyone operating on a large scale. When properly utilized, the mistakes avoided by its use will repay many times over its cost. It will furnish more satisfactory information and give a better insight into the underground working of the mine to property owners and stockholders than can be had by any other means. At a glance the numerous entries and rooms are taken into view, the extent of the worked out and unworked field, with boundary lines, and many other things of like import are spread out before one in such manner as will enable him to comprehend the situation more readily than could be obtained by weeks of toil in the mines.

A mine foreman with a map before him can plan his work months ahead much more intelligently than he could possibly do so without it. He sees how far he can go without encroaching upon the property of his neighbor, or recklessly run an entry or a room into an abandoned mine filled with water which, if tapped, would flood his mine and possibly cause great loss of life and the destruction of much property. The map is further useful to the foreman as an aid in locating doors

for distributing the ventilative current to parts where it will best serve the purpose for which it was intended. It also indicates where new work can be located, and enables him with accuracy to make changes suited to all the conditions and surroundings. The mine map is of great assistance to the Mine Inspector, as it enables him to readily trace out the route traveled by the air current, and when defects are found in the ventilating current the opportunity afforded him by its use to discover where and how to remedy the defects are very helpful and greatly appreciated. In fact, no mine is altogether successfully operated without the use of an accurate map of the same. There are a large number of so-called maps in this office which occasion a great stretch of the imagination to call them maps. They are executed with a pencil upon brown paper, and show the entrance to the mine with a few entries, no attempt being made to indicate an air current, location of doors, cross-cuts or boundary lines, and references and explanations are evidently deemed unnecessary. The best that can be said of them is that they are worth a little less than nothing. The importance of a good map has been most fully illustrated in this State during the past year. Several of the mines working in the neighborhood of old and abandoned mines were required out of precaution and in accordance with the law to keep bore-holes 20 feet in advance of all work approaching the abandoned mine. Aside from the elements of uncertainty the cost of doing this work was quite an item.

Had maps of these mines been made as the law required, the operators could easily located the boundary of the old work and proceeded with the mining of their coal without risk or extra cost. A mine that is being driven in the direction of one that is old or abandoned, requires the utmost care and attention. It is necessarily attended with much anxiety, and to provide against contingencies, the expenditure of a much larger sum than would be the case if the excavation of the old and the new work were plainly pointed out by a good map. A mine that has been worked out and abandoned for some years and no map in existence showing the limits of its excavations, is a dangerous thing to approach from the coal level. It may be filled with water or with water and gas, and an unexpected break-through between the new and old mines is always attended with great loss in time and money, and very often with serious loss of life.

An experience of this nature occurred at the Bevier Black Diamond mine, of such recent date as to remain fresh, especially in the minds of some of the miners of Bevier. Portions of this mine were being driven in the direction of an abandoned mine known to be full of water. There was nothing in existence indicating the limits of the

worked-out portions of this mine, and all work in that direction was frought with uncertainty and great danger. Realizing the fearful possibilities of a mistake in judgment on the part of the mine manager, a letter was addressed the manager from this office, notifying him of our fears and instructing that bore-holes must be kept 20 feet in advance of all work in all directions prosecuted in the direction of the abandoned mine. These instructions were followed only in part by keeping a bore-hole in the center of the entry, and one day the water broke through at the cutting. There were 125 men at work in the mine at the time-all got out safe, though they hurried through water waist deep. This I consider a serious lesson, and should be remembered.

Mine No. 7, Loomis Coal Company, located near Bevier, is being driven in the direction of an abandoned mine, and for the reason that there are no maps indicating the worked-out district, bore-holes are required to be kept 20 feet in advance of all work in every direction, at a cost considerably above that of preparing a map. These are only a few of many instances of the kind where this extraordinary precaution and great expense is made necessary for want of a mine map. My predecessor wrote a strong article on this important subject, which appeared in the 6th annual report of this Department, in which he clearly and forcibly pointed out the great benefit and advantages derived from the possession of a good mine map, requesting all operators to file maps and comply with the law. We have continued in the effort to impress the importance of this matter upon owners and operators of mines, and now insist upon a full and complete compliance with the law, in the interest of the present and future operation of mines within the limits of the State.

SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE MINER.

Attention having been called in various ways to the physical condition of the mines, a brief reference to the social life and habits of the miner may not be without interest.

The Mine Inspector for this State can justly lay claim to a familiarity with the subject, acquired by the actual experience and personal observation of a life spent in the mines, and embracing the life lived for many years as a miner.

The miner of today it must be remembered, is a far different man from the miner of some years past. While there are a large number of men in the mines at present who have had many years of experience in this State, yet the changed conditions brought about by the introAuction of so many new men, foreign not only to the old miner in

language and habits, but many of them also in the color of their skin, and many of both descriptions totally lacking in the elements of pride and decency. This, in addition to the accompaning result from an excess of labor of an inferior order, brought about a reduction in the price of mining, and wrought an astounding change in the social condition of the miner. For these reasons I much prefer a reference to the miner as he was.

As a class, the miners are of a liberal disposition, and it is a difficult matter for them to reconcile their wants to the scanty fare made necessary by present earnings. Their love of the comforts of life, especially so in the matter of table supplies is proverbial, for as long as their means would permit, their tables were supplied with substantial food of good quality, variety and frequent changes.

They are given to hospitality, and take great pleasure in entertaining liberally at their homes, and oftimes in order to furnish their entertainments in good style for a brief time, they are compelled for a while thereafter to deprive themselves of many needed things until they can even up with their earnings.

The nature and character of the miner's employment will not permit even a suspicion of his being well attired while at work, but let him get out of the mine after his day's work, finish the very thorough bath which he takes every day, don his good clothes and aside from the appearance of his hands which bespeak his hard work, he would not be regarded as a man doing labor of any kind. The reason for their making a good appearance when dressed is due to the fact that the miners keep themselves cleaner than any other class of laboring men. It is not an uncommon thing for the old miner, if he should put on his working clothes for only a few moments, and for some reason not work that day, to go through the bathing performance just as though he had been working in the mine all day.

Cleanliness and the fact that in the mine he is subject to the same temperature the year round, where neither sunshine, cold or heat render him uncomfortable while at work, his complexion is better preserved thereby than that of many ladies who give great attention to such matters.

The miner must, to be equipped in accordance with his views, have a Sunday suit, and is particular that it accord with the fashions of the day.

The miner takes a commendable pride in his wife and children, especially with reference to their comfort and attire, and any deprivation in this respect is keenly felt. The contrast in the miner's family of today in this particular is very striking compared with their condi