Electric shovels

W. M. Hoen: I think it reasonable to compare the present steam shovel with the development of the mine hoist. The shovel has a little harder job, but it seems to me that in the early days, in electrifying steam hoists, we were up against a difficult proposition. The hoist manufacturers were building and selling steam hoists, so the electrical manufacturer had to furnish equipment which did not do justice to itself. Mine operators also attacked this problem with more or less success. Today the hoist manufacturers have redesigned their equipment as a unit with the electrical apparatus.