Originally published in the Pacific Coast Bulletin, May 24, 1922
We are rapidly approaching the point in the progress of the installation of the mine councils when all of the representatives of the employees will be elected men whose authority to speak in the mine councils on behalf of the men they represent will be unquestionable.
Nominations to fill vacancies and complete the representation of the men were held at all the mines on Tuesday the 16th, and final elections were to be held on Tuesday the 23rd. The result of this election will be announced in the Bulletin next week.
It will be recalled that our first representatives for the installation period were elected by Mr. Irelan and that a plan was announced in the Constitution for arranging the terms of office so that those men selected by Mr. Irelan would be gradually replaced by men elected by secret vote of the employees to represent them in the councils. Mr. Irelan’s choice was generally approved by the fact that most of the men selected by him were returned by the men in the elections later.
The elections in March resulted in the installation of half the total representatives as secretly elected men to serve nine-month terms. The election going on at the time this is written, will result in the installation of the other half of the representatives as secretly elected men to serve full year terms from June 1st, 1922.
The proportion of men voting to the total number entitled to vote is a good measure of the extent in which the employees are interested in the mine council organization. We do not expect as much interest in the nominations as in the final elections. That is true of all elections.
We are gratified to see, however, that nearly 70 of the voters turned out to express their choice in the nominations and this promises better than a 90 vote in the elections. The percentage voting in the nominations were: Black Diamond 84%, Issaquah 73%, Burnett 63%, and Newcastle 47%. The average of the totals was over 68%.
It takes a presidential election of an extremely interesting political question to bring more than 40% of the voters to the polls in a political election. Nominations are ordinarily made by a much smaller percentage.
The interest of the employees in their councils is expressed, not only in the way they step out to vote but in the character of men they select as nominees. In this respect the nominations just closed are even more gratifying as you will note by looking over their names and their very brief biographies in this issue.
Only half of the nominees can be elected but there isn’t a man in the list of all those nominated who will not be received with sincere welcome by the representatives of management with whom they will serve for the coming year in the common effort to make these mines the best of all coal mines to work in.
Those nominated for the elections now going were:
| Black Diamond | Newcastle | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone | Zone | ||
| A. Booth | A | Walter Cairns | C |
| R.L. Small | A | T. Riley | C |
| J.J. Miller | B | J.A. Ritchie | E |
| F. A. Peck | B | A.B. McNary | E |
| A.W. Brown | G | H.G. Walmsley | F |
| O. Campbell | G | C. Nelson | F |
| A.W. Grey | H | David Wells | H |
| W.A. Smith | H | T. Sthay | H |
| Issaquah | Burnett | ||
| Zone | Zone | ||
| G.W. Adams | A | H.J. Elliott | A |
| Geo. Nelson | A | E. Fitzgerald | A |
| L.C. Hoadley | C | Jack Henning | B |
| J.E. Carroll | C | R.G. Robertson | B |
| T.A. Bruner | D | Frank Connel | E |
| Jos. H. Smith | D | A.E. Turner | E |
| A.M. Weir | F | Guy W. Furnish | F |
| Frank Demerse | F | ||
Who’s who among the men nominated for mine councils
Here are a few biographical notes about the miners of the Pacific Coast Coal company who were nominated as candidates for the Mine Councils in the voting of May 16, last:
Black Diamond
A.W. Brown. Machinist; age, 59 years; married. two children. Been with the company since December 15, 1921. Lives with family at Black Diamond.
O.W. Campbell. Age, 45 years; mine car repairman. Married and family lives in Kirkland. Been with company since November 16, 1921.
R.L. Small. Age 36 years; married; one son; came from Kellogg, Idaho. With company since November 5. 1921. Lives at Black Diamond.
J.J. Miller. Born, Italy; citizen of United States. Been with company since September 9, 1921. Lives with wife at Black Diamond.
F.A. Peck. Age, 30 years; came from Butte where he was mining coal. Been with the company since October, at Issaquah, Newcastle, and Black Diamond. Single.
Wm. A. Smith. Outside laborer; age 41 years; lives at Black Diamond with wife and children, one boy and one girl. Been with company since September 14, 1921.
A.W. Grey. Outside laborer; age, 44 years; formerly of Butte. Married, two boys and three girls. Been with the company since September 16. 1921. Lives with family at Black Diamond.
Newcastle
Carl Nelson. Dumper; age 33; single. Born Sweden; to Newcastle on October 4; previously worked in mines of Alaska and also followed logging in this state.
Timothy Riley. Age, 25; inside motorman. Formerly in mines in Butte. Single. At Newcastle since October 22, 1921.
W. Cairns. Motorman. Age, 29. Married and living in Newcastle with family. Followed coal mining for 15 years. At Newcastle since August, 1921.
A.B. McNary. Inside helper. Age, 42; married. Family lives at Newcastle. Formerly in the mines in Alaska, At Newcastle since September 8, 1921.
T. Sthay. Cager. Age, 23 ; married; born in Seattle. Formerly employed by company in Newcastle cook house. Family lives at Newcastle.
Issaquah
Geo. Nelson. Contract miner. Born. Kentucky. Age, 46. Married. Family at Issaquah. Nelson has had 23 years coal mining experience in both flat and pitching seams. Has worked throughout the U.S. in mines. To Issaquah October 21, 1921. Formerly; for short time, at Black Diamond Mine.
L.O. Hoadley. Motorman. Born, Butte; educated there in public schools. Age, .23. Single. Worked 2 months at Burnett Mine and came to Issaquah January 23, 1922.
Jos. H. Smith. Timberman. Born, Quebec, Canada. Age, 51. Came to America at the age of 15. American citizen. Thirty years’ experience in metal mines in various capacities. Alaska, Mexico and South America; to Issaquah, October 28, 1921.
J.E. Carroll. Inside haulage man. Born, Oglanon, Neb., and educated public schools there. Married; age, 28; family residing Issaquah. To Issaquah January 28, 1922.
Burnett
Guy W. Furnish. Born, June 27, 1899, Kansas; age, 22; single. To Burnett, September, 1921. Lives with his father, blacksmith. Works with father in blacksmith shop. Served four years in United States Forestry Division.
Sam Metcalf. Born Canada. Age, 36. Married; two children. To Burnett, October, 1921; second electrician. Served in Canadian and British army for four years as 1st lieutenant. Still holds commission in reserves.
Frank Demerse. Born, Michigan; age, 51; married. To Burnett, August last; car repairer, building contractor.
Jack Hanning. Miner. Born, Missouri, 1883. Formerly in Montana as miner; also boilermaker in Spokane for six years. To Burnett, September, 1921. Single.
Elmer Fitzgerald. Miner. Born, Idaho; followed mining since age of 12. To Burnett, November, 1921. Married, no children.
More mining laws
The Bulletin is printing, below, some more of the Mining Laws of Washington governing the mines of the Pacific Coast Coal Co.
It is very important that every miner acquaint himself thoroughly with these laws, as they are designed to protect him in his work, as well as to inform him as to his legal duties.
The laws selected for this week’s issue of the Bulletin are:
Sec. 208.—Duties of Driver: When a driver has occasion to leave his trip, he must be careful to see that it is left, when possible, in a safe place, secure from cars and other dangers, and where it will not endanger the drivers of other trips or other persons.
He must take care while making his trip down grade to have the brakes or sprags so adjusted that he can keep the cars under control and prevent them from running over himself or others.
He shall not leave any cars standing where they may materially obstruct the ventilating current, except in case of accident, which he shall promptly report to the mine foreman, or assistant mine foreman.
He shall not allow any person to ride on loaded mine cars. He shall not allow any person to drive his horses or mules in his stead, unless authorized by a mine official. When it is his duty to open a door for the purpose of passing his trip through he shall see that the door is immediately closed thereafter.
Sec. 209.—Duties of a Trip Rider: The trip rider shall exercise care in seeing that all hitchings are safe for use and that all the trip is coupled before starting, and should he at any time see any material defect in the rope, link or chain, he shall immediately remedy said defect, or, if he is unable to do so, he shall detain the trip and report the matter to the mine foreman or the assistant mine foreman. He shall not allow any person to ride on the loaded or empty trip, except as provided in article XVI, section 176.
Sec. 210.—Duties of Hoisting Engineers: It shall be the duty of the engineer, who shall be a temperate, competent person, to keep a careful watch over his engine and all machinery under his charge. He shall make himself acquainted with the signal codes provided for in this act, and by the special rules of the mine.
He shall not allow any unauthorized person to enter the engine house, nor shall he allow any person to handle or run the engine without the permission of the superintendent.
When workmen are being lowered or raised he shall take special precautions to keep the engine well under control.
Sec. 211.—Duties of Motorman and Locomotive Engineer: The motorman or locomotive engineer shall keep a sharp lookout ahead, and sound the whistle or alarm bell frequently when coming near the parting switches or landings, and shall not exceed the limit allowed by the mine foreman. He shall see that the motors, cables and controlling parts are kept clean and in a safe operating condition, and that the headlight is burning properly when the locomotive is in motion. He shall not allow any person, except his attendant, or mine officials, to ride on the locomotive or motor.
Sec. 212.—Duties of Firemen: Every fireman in charge of a boiler or boilers for the generation of steam shall keep a careful watch over the same. He shall see that the steam pressure does not at any time exceed the limit allowed by the superintendent or master mechanic; he shall frequently try the safety valves, and shall not increase the weight on the same. He shall maintain a proper height of water in each boiler, and if anything should happen to prevent this he shall report it without, delay to the superintendent or master mechanic, or other person designated by the superintendent, and take such other action as may under the circumstances be best for the protection of life and preservation of property.
Sec. 213.—The person in charge of the ventilating fan at a mine shall keep it running at such speed as the mine foreman shall direct in writing. He shall report promptly to the mine foreman, or assistant mine foreman, in case of accident to boiler or fan machinery. If only ordinary repairs to the fan or machinery become necessary, he shall await the instructions of the mine foreman or assistant mine foreman before stopping the fan. Should it become impossible to run the fan, or become necessary to stop it to prevent its destruction, he shall at once notify the superintendent or mine foreman, who shall give immediate warning to the persons in the mine.
Sec. 214.—The hooker-on at the bottom of any slope shall be over eighteen years of age, and he shall be careful to see that the cars are properly coupled to a rope or chain, and to each other, and the safety device is properly attached to man trips, before signaling the engineer. He shall personally attend to the signals, and see that the provisions of this act, in respect to hoisting and lowering persons in shafts or slopes are complied with.
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