MINING FOR VICTORY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3112, 16 June 1917, Page 13

MINING FOR VICTORY

THE AUSTRALIAN TUNNELLERS AT THE FRONT A FAMOUS CORPS As linio goes ou ono gets Hie oiilKirttmity of realising tho great iiuuortanco of mining in tho warfare of tho Western front (says one of tho "Sydney Morninc Herald's , ' correspondents fit the front). Tho minors' sbaro to-day in tho great conflict 13 not only uniyuo but of tho utmost value. Tho work being- done by them since thoir organisation has facilitated many operations, in addition to having saved many thousands of lives. The daily protection which they have effected for our troops ifl almost beyond computation. They have turned out to l>o tho great life-savers of tno Army, and tho tunnellini: soldiers tiro held in tho greatest esteem, from the higliost command to tho ranker of alt units. In addition to the important work of tunnelling, units under tho supervision of .officers and n.c.o.'s, thousands of infantrymen, the greater majority of whom were ontirely ignorant of underground work, have been transformed into excellent wombats. The work of tho miner in the war of to-day is, perhaps, tho most im- [ portent of all tho engineering branches, for his assistance is of tho utmost importance in tho majority of operations. And tho Australian miner has not been left at the post in the work over here. As in other matters in connection with the war, ho has displayed initiative and enemy worthy of the highest traditions. If saluting and other military details at times prove irksome to him. he gets happiness when he knows ho is up against Yritz. Tho lads who have toiled and eweca and cursed everything in front of them in tho mines of Australia, at the Hill nud Bendigo, and elsewhere, toil with equal, if not greater, ardour when ■burrowing nftgr tho Huns, and swear— [ not perhap? so loud, for when down ]below in No-Man's Land sileneo is golden —with greater fervour, assisted by n vocabulary of the most revised edition. I havo referred to the initiative of tho Australian digger, and. from observation I havo no hesitation in placing him first on tho list in that respect. Tho great majority of our miners liavo spent many oft' periods at other labours, which lias resulted in them having a greater and i wider scope of practical knowledge than is generally the case, honco thoir quickness in adapting themselves to things as they find them, and proving themselves all-round handy man—a very valuable asset in such trying- days as'these. A Famous Company. Tho pick of Australia's miners arc in tho forefront of tho battle in Prance, and they liavo done all that has been expected of them, and more. Although work has been hard, and many privations and hardships have been endured in common with other units, they have to date boruo tho bruint of tho battle creditably, manfully, and' well. All ranks .hjwe maintained, with regard to their work and duties, an csprit-de-corps that redounds to their credit as a body of men and to tho honour of tho country from which they nail. There is no gainsaying the fact that all companies havo dono work and obtained Tesults far beyond expectations. Tho technical company of the corps has also been of great assistance, and has proved itself tho pioneer of many new methods and innovations. All is gold that conies its way, for in every detail of work thoy havo handled n. signal aucccss luis been scored oaoh time. Their popularity has jiot been gained entirely by tho tender cnreseoi) of Unmo Fortune but by sheer persistency and hard work, together with tho knowledge that tho Hun was always good fiamo for them. If they havo earned praise, and if they continno to win laurels, it is not by fortune's favourtlat they an> obtained, but by shcor, erini, hard toil. Tho following encomium from a high command recently speaks for itself:— "Uy tho pluck nnd determination of all ranks wo havo completely mastered tho mining systems. Appreciation is recorded of tho valuable assistance ami technical advice with -regard to other underground work." Such an appreciation is veiy plcasiPK, but «t tho sarao lime J know it; was cnrnivd. Yes; the Australian miner is hoWiiiff hie own on the Western front, and, as I hnnrd an officer of high mnk express himself, 'Tea; they've done good work, and their efforts continue to bo excellent."

lines and costs amounting to over .CHi were imposed on a Bath herbalist for wrongfully using the description ' MM. and tho tilio "medical practitioner."