History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 38

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1532

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Illustrating the point now in hand, the writer when at Drifton wandered over the grounds and shops, and among the workmen, and incognito talked to them of their employment and treatment. Chance threw him in company with a recently crippled laborer, who was just able to be out and was carrying a badly injured arm in a sling. He was able to givethe minutest details of the men's treatment; telling of the hospital for the employes close at hand, with all its conveniences and elegancies of appointment, and the surgeons, nurses, as well as a large free library for the employes, etc., maintained by the company. Further he gave all the particulars of the very gener- ous monthly allowance in case of misfortune-especially so where there was a widow and children in the case. He summed the case fully with the remark when he said: "Oh, every one knows that he will always be provided for." The writer asked the man finally the opinion of the employes of Mr. Coxe, leaving a slight impression on the man's mind that he was inclined to find some fault with every capitalist. His reply was very significant: "Mr. Coxe is rather a peculiar man; he pays only the common wages to his men; if he once forms an opinion as to what is best for himself and his men, he will tell them, and will never back down from one of his opinions. Gener- ally, I think his opinion right, but sometimes I think him wrong, but he stands as strong by a wrong opinion as by a right one." This workman in his own language was correct in his estimate of Mr. Coxe's tenacity of purpose. The man told of the strike of a few years ago; said that the miners at Drifton were ordered out and had to obey. They had an interview with Mr. Coxe and he frankly told them what ' would be the outcome; that they could not drive him; that he could afford to stop

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all work at Drifton far better than they could afford to be idle; that in the end they would have to go to work at probably less wages; that he could live if his property at Drifton was all at the bottom of a Noah's flood, etc. The men mostly knew that all he told them was the truth, but they had to obey orders, and after six months of idleness and all its consequent suffering, were glad to resume work at less wages.

To the genius and thorough education of Mr. Coxe as a mine engineer and in experimental mechanics and chemistry the world owes some of the most valuable improvements in use to-day in mining. He built the first iron and steel breaker ever erected and filled this with many valuable devices as labor savers. This breaker is in full view as the cars approach Drifton, and until he completed his new iron and steel breaker at Oneida, the one at Drifton was the finest in the country. In and about any of these breakers is the most expensive machinery and in the one point of security from fire, if there were no others, he has settled the problem of future breakers and how to build them. He has now machinery that does the work of the coal pickers. At his Drifton shops he builds his own machinery of all kinds from the simplest tools to the great iron breakers, stationary and railroad engines, cars, etc. The company's road is the Delaware, Susquehanna & Schuylkill railroad, connecting the ten mines operated by the company-nine of these mines are in Luzerne county in addition to the one at Oneida. The new steel breaker at Oneida and its vast and improved machinery is one of the finest in the country. As Mr. Coxe said: "We did not want to build our railroad, but the railroads drove us to it and we built it," at an expense of over a million dollars. As a sample of what such pluck and energy may do, it should be stated that before the belt road was completed the roads hauled down their colors and said to all the private miners, we will take your coal at the mine and allow you a fair rate according to the market for it. And the contention was at once over. The company have supply headquarters at New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and for the Northwest at Chicago. The first three named are all connected by telephone with the office at Drifton, thus permitting this busiest of busy men to personally supervise even the details of this company's affairs at all these points, except Chicago, the same as if he were constantly in his office at Drifton. When he visited Europe a few years ago as vice-president of the mining congress held in Paris at the Exposition of 1889, he was cordially received by the most eminent scientists and men of varied culture wherever he went. He is to-day better known across the waters than to many of his immediate neighbors of Luzerne county.

Mr. Coxe has for many years been a prominent member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, of which he was president from May, 1878, to February, 1880, and has been a frequent contributor of papers to its transactions. He has made a special study of the preparation of anthracite coal and surveying in collieries, and among the papers which he has presented have been several upon these subjects. Mr. Coxe is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, having been its vice-president from April, 1880, to November, 1881, and is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He has also published a translation of the first volume of the fourth edition of Weisbach's Mechanics of Engineering and Construction of Machines (New York, 1872).

As marked in the most practical affairs of life as is this head of the firm of Coxe Bros. & Co., on the side of his scientific attainments, yet the man is best to be known in his library and workshop; premising this paragraph with the fact that the Latin, German and French languages are familiar enough to him to readily translate the most technical books on his favorite subjects. Adjoining his private office is a large two-story building that is pretty much all windows, and on inquiry the writer found here Mr. Coxe with a corps of assistants, has his chemical and mechanical engineer- ing experimental works, where are worked out his ideas of new machinery and every

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labor-saving device of use in his mines, mining and shops. This is the most interesting spot, and the writer can now far better understand the expressed wish of Thomas A. Edison, who recently visited Hazleton, that he would be able while in the vicinity to visit Drifton and meet Mr. Coxe. In this experimental workshop such a man as Edison would find much to interest him deeply.

But a few steps from this building in company with Mr. Coxe, the writer-a blessed "tenderfoot" in this interesting workshop-was invited to enter a fire-proof one-story building that is his scientific library room, presided over by his assistant in the workshop, Mr. John R. Wagner. Here is gathered the finest technical library on these subjects that are a specialty to Mr. Coxe in the world to-day. This is saying a good deal, but it is simple truth. Over 12,000 volumes and nearly 5,000 rare manuscripts and pamphlets, mostly in English, French and German, but some rare old books that would set ablaze the eyes of a true bibliomaniac. Such is the admirable arrangement of the whole that Mr. Wagner can hand to Mr. Coxe any paper, magazine article, pamphlet or book and page that he may chance to want in a moment.

By this time, to the writer-a stranger to Drifton and the firm of Coxe Bros. & Co., the individual he had set for himself the pleasant task of "writing up"-had passed from the phase of one of the more than sixty millions of Americans to that of an institution-one of the remarkable institutions of our country. Such lives are rare indeed in this world; such a combination of practical and scientific attain- ments, backed by a capital so ample, all driven toward the one purpose of developing the natural resources of our continent, enriching mankind and pushing forward civilization should mark an era in history.

If the reader will keep in mind that this is a part of the chapter on mines and mining, and in no sense an attempt at biography, then he will understand that the only attempt so far is to present the salient points on this part of the subject of the life work of the head of the house of Coxe Bros. & Co. The details, the lesser lights and shadows of biography, would make a most interesting volume indeed. That, however, is the work of the future biographer and when it falls to the hand equal to the undertaking, the world's literature will be immeasurably enriched. And yet we can not refrain in closing this paragraph from a brief reference to a well-known cir- cumstance that so fitly illustrates another side of this gentleman's character.

In the way of completing the many-sided picture of the man, the following is summarized from the current newspaper literature of the day:

" Mr. Coxe has always been a consistent and ardent Democrat, and in 1880 was elected to the State senate from the twenty-sixth senatorial district, composed of the lower part of Luzerne county and part of Lackawanna county. He did not take his seat as senator, however, because he declined to take the oath of office prescribed by the first section of article VII, of the constitution of the State; and on January 4, 1881, issued to his constituents the following address, in which he tersely gave the reasons for his action:

" 'TO MY CONSTITUENTS: I deem it my duty to state to you simply and clearly the reasons which force me to refuse to take the oath prescribed by the constitution as a necessary prerequisite to entering upon my duties as senator, knowing, as I do, that this refusal forfeits my seat. The required oath is: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will support, obey and defend the constitution of the United States and the constitution of this commonwealth, and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity; that I have not paid or contributed, or promised to pay or contribute, either directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing to procure my nomination or election (or appointment), except for necessary and proper expenses expressly authorized by law; that I have not knowingly violated any election law of this commonwealth, or procured it to be done by others in my behalf; that I will not knowingly receive, directly or indirectly, any moneys or

Q. Q. Robinson.

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other valuable thing for the peformance or non-performance of any act or duty pertaining to my office, other than the compensation allowed by law."

He theu proceeds in detail to point out the particular meaning of the law, as well as itemize the amounts he had contributed to the committee, and the purpose for which he specified it should be expended. On this the editor of the Philadel- phia Times commented as follows:

"No one who knew Mr. Coxe doubted for one moment his assertion that he did not lay out $1 to procure his nomination, and that although he had used money for expenses not expressly authorized by law, not one cent was spent with his knowledge or consent for any improper or fraudulent purpose; and while many of his friends thought he was over-nice and sensitive in adopting a construction of the law which, if followed generally, would have left both branches of the legis- lature without a quorum, all admired that scrupulous integrity and high sense of bonor which are the crowning traits of his character, and which led him to retire from the position to which he had been elected rather than take an oath to any fact about which the strictest constructionist could have suggested the slightest doubt.

"His constituents accepted the explanations of his address in the same spirit as that in which they were given, and in 1881 he was re-elected to the senate by a majority over three times as large as that which he had received the previous year. He served his term in the senate with honor to himself and with great benefit to the State. His intimate acquaintance with the great industries of the commonwealth, his knowledge of practical business, his unquestioned integrity of character and his honesty of purpose made him a model senator, and extended his reputation over the entire commonwealth. His name was presented during a few ballots in the convention of 1882 for the nomination of governor, and his many friends throughout the State urged him to make a contest for the honor, believing that in the struggle between Pattison and Hopkins he would have carried off the prize as an acceptable candidate to all sections of the State. As Mr. Coxe had previously stated in private that he was in favor of the nomination of Mr. Pattison, he only permitted his name to remain before the convention until the vote given him added to that for Mr. Pattison were sufficient to nominate the latter, when he withdrew as a candidate, and subsequently worked earnestly for the election of Gov. Pattison.

"For many years Mr. Coxe has made his home in Drifton, Luzerne county, near to his mines and to the homes of the many thousands of miners and working- men whom his firm employs. He has been celebrated and justly praised not only for the admirable methods of his mining department, and the character and efficiency of its plant, but also, and even more notably, for the kindly and pleasant relations which have existed between him and the men employed at his collieries. It is doubtful whether at any other place in this country, or even in the world, an employer of labor has taken more pains and more pride than have been taken by Mr. Coxe and the other members of his family at Drifton to minister to the wants and laudable ambitions of his workingmen, and to establish those cordial relations of respect, confidence and friendship which should always exist between labor and capital.

"Like most other coal operators, however, Mr. Coxe has had his share of strikes and labor troubles; but he deserves the credit of having conducted the contests in such manner as to retain the respect and confidence of his men. His mines were idle during the late disastrous strike in the Lehigh region; but, notwithstanding this fact, when he reached Drifton upon his recent return from Europe, in the month of October last, he met with a most enthusiastic reception from some 5,000 of his employes and neighbors.

"Since the expiration of his term as senator Mr. Coxe has always taken an

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active part in the work of the Democratic party. He has filled no public position, however, except that of a member of the State committee, and a recognized and trusted leader of his party; and chairman, in 1884, of the Pennsylvania delegation to the national convention in Chicago that nominated Mr. Cleveland.

" He is placed in the gubernatorial gallery of the Times, not that he is himself in any manner an aspirant for the place, but because many prominent members of his party consider him an available candidate, and among those who do not covet the honor or aspire to the position, there is no one in the State who would better fill the office - who has more friends and fewer enemies - or whose occu- pancy of the high position would confer more honor upon the commonwealth."

George Bushar Markle is a name closely linked with this great anthracite coal region. Like Pardee, Haydon and others who pioneered the way in this line, he came here a young man, with no other capital than his bare hands, resolute soul and a clear eye to the coming future and its possibilities. He was the son of John and Emily Markle, and was born in Milton, Pa., July 1, 1827. In his native village he had more than the average school facilities at the schools of Steele and of Kirk- patrick, where as a very young pupil he received those primary lessons in his educa- tion that he carried with him during his whole life. At these schools he was the junior companion of better grown lads, some, indeed many, of whom in after years rose to eminence and a wide celebrity. His father was a poor man and the lad, when very young, came to the full realization that his future depended upon himself. It was thus he gained that great lesson so important to every youth of self-reliance, a heritage after all that poverty can give its children, yet really worth more than all the jewels of Ophir and Ind. At the age of fourteen young Markle had learned surveying tolerably well, but the financial affairs of his parents made it imperative, and so he went to Philadelphia and in a carpenter's shop commenced to learn a trade, where he spent some time and made rapid progress. But all our lives apparently are results of trivial circumstances. In this country where everything is on a gigantic scale; where, when a neighbor's pig rooted up a hill of potatoes of another neighbor and this incident in time turns the election for President, and the President's success settles the question of a great war with a foreign nation, that perhaps ends in re-mapping the world. you may see that even a trivial circum- stance may culminate in great results. Young carpenter Markle had a fall from a trestle and for quite a while could not follow his trade. He returned, in conse- quence, to Bloomsburg, where his father had in the meantime removed, and learned, with his father, the saddler's trade-work that he could do. He had now reached the age of twenty; was an expert saddler and harness maker and his hand had not forgotten its cunning with the carpenter's tools; was clerk in store; and connected with a foundry a short time. His exhibition of his faith in himself is given by at that time joining in wedlock with Miss Emily Robinson. Of this union were nine children- five of whom are living: Clara, Ida, George B. Jr., John and Alvan, and when he was twenty-two, with his young wife, came to Hazleton and made his life home, finding his first employment as a clerk in Pardee's store, being by marriage related to Mrs. Ario Pardee. First clerk, book-keeper and at the same time was superin- tendent of store. In this employ he remained nine years, soon having superintend- ing charge of the store and from that was made the responsible head of this great firm, as general superintendent of its collieries, etc. In an incredibly short time after his last promotion he became a master among the mine operators and was a most valuable aid to Mr. Pardee. Mr. Markle was a born mechanic and here his genius found full play. He introduced many valuable improvements in mining machinery. His quick eye detected defects in the old machines and his ready wit would then solve the problem by the substitution of a better way of doing it. Thus he could make himself invaluable. He introduced changes and made inventions on every hand, enough to revolutionize the coal industry. He was the designer of the present form of "breaker" now in universal use in the anthracite districts.

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Anthracite coal as it comes from the mines is not marketable. The "run of mine " can not, as in the case of bituminous coal, be sold. Anthracite, being very compact and practically free from volatile combustible matter, burns only at the surface, and it is, therefore, deemed important to have lumps as nearly of a uniform size as possible, so that between them a large amount of surface will remain exposed to the action of the air without checking the draught too much, or allowing enough air to pass to cool the coal below the ignition-point. In other words, if the pieces of coal of the size of a chestnut and smaller are mixed with lumps of the size of an egg they fill the air-passages and prevent a free draught. It has long been recognized, therefore, that one of the most important points in preparation is to have a uniform sizing, and also to make as large a number of different sizes as can be produced without too great expense. It is also essential to remove all dust, which is of little or no use at present, and depreciates the value of coal in the market.

Mixed with the pure coal large amounts of slate, "slate coal " and " bony coal" generally occur. The term "slate-coal" is used to designate lumps composed partly of coal and partly of slate, in which the pure coal occurs in such large masses that, by re-breaking, pieces of pure coal of marketable sizes can be obtained eco- nomically, and "bony coal" to designate lumps in which the coal and slate are so interstratified that they can not be separated economically by mechanical preparation; also coal in which the impurities are present in such high percentages as to destroy or greatly diminish its market value. In other words, slate coal is coal from which, by breaking and preparation, a certain amount of pure coal can be obtained: bony coal is coal which can not be economically rendered more pure by mechanical prep- aration, although it may be used for certain purposes in its crude condition.

The problem is to remove the impurities as completely as possible. Of course, when the slate occurs in separate pieces it should be eliminated without further breaking. But the slate coal must be broken into smaller pieces to separate the slaty portion from the coal. It is generally impossible to sell all the larger lumps which come from the mines, and machinery must be provided for breaking them up into such sizes as the market requires.

This statement is made necessary to give the reader outside of the anthracite region some idea of the functions and importance of the "breaker"-those black, tall, open, camelopard-looking structures the traveler on the cars sees in passing through this section for the first time, and wonders what they and their great culm piles have to do in the coal getting. These ungainly-looking affairs each, of them- selves, have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. We are assured that the late George B. Markle may be called the " father of the breaker" in its present form. He had learned the coal business while with Mr. Pardee, and, after nine years' experience with him, resolved to commence business for himself, and in 1858 formed the firm of G. B. Markle & Co., the partners being J. Gillingham Fell, Ario Pardee and William Lilly. Mr. Markle was the senior and entire manager and they opened the Jeddo colliery. Then was laid the firm foundation of the vast fortune that awaited this man of tireless energy and keen foresight. Mine operating was still an unsolved problem. The world was unused to the absolute necessity of the common use of hard coal. The operators were working under many disadvantages, chiefly that of imperfect machinery about their breakers. Mr. Markle realized all this fully, and, as said, his experience had taught his remarkable mechanical mind that here was where improvement must commence. He conceived a plan for the improved breaker, called to his side the best mechanical skill he could find, and attempted to convey to them his idea and was ready to build one on his new plan. After many efforts to convey his ideas to the minds of these mechanics he realized they could not fully understand him from drawings and specifications, and so, with his pocket- knife, he whittled out a breaker- a model, perfect in proportions and with every piece of timber in its proper place, and then the builders could not err. That model,

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made with a knife only, is substantially the exact breaker now in universal use, and from that has come the great impulse that has extended this industry to its present bewildering proportions. His son, John Markle, the present head of the house in the coal business, gives the history of that whittled-out model, and, with regret, informs us that it was carelessly given to the children as a toy, and was by them finally totally destroyed. What a misfortune! It would have been, if preserved, to-day one of the most interesting contributions to the Columbian Fair at Chicago in 1893. Mr. Markle was an inventor of marked ability. "The Markle pump," now so extensively manufactured, and in use in the collieries, was his sole invention. It has no rival in its line of work. His improvements in the coal crushers, the jigand much of the other machinery that he never thought it worth while to patent, are, by their common use, ever-living testimonials of his mechanical genius.

That this man became first in importance in this part of the coal fields is much as a matter of course. He had many of the elements of a born leader. Original and daring in conception, and yet every faculty perfectly balanced. When the "labor troubles" came and the whole business of mining was in jeopardy; when the coolest heads among employers were becoming much confused; then it was, that, by a common impulse, all turned for guidance and counsel to him, and soon the word was passed from one to the other: "We will all agree to whatever Mr. Markle agrees to with his men." And upon this basis the threatened calamity was gener- ally safely tided over.

In 1876 Mr. Markle's health became seriously impaired, and this continued to grow until 1879, when he retired from active life and went to Europe, where he spent a year, returning in 1880, when he completely severed all personal supervi- sion even largely as advisor of his now vast affairs and resigned himself to the care of his physician and family. He consulted the most eminent physicians attainable, visited many of the world's most noted health resorts, but in vain. £ August 18, 1888, he passed peacefully from earth. His widow, helpmate and mother of his children, survived but a brief month after his death.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 38

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.) Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1532

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1532