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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR A cage A Journey Through the Land of Coal     First our plane sets us down near the entrance to a great soft-coal mine in the Middle West. We are in a little village of large, oddly shaped buildings with a large railroad yard. On the tracks are many open cars, some empty, some loaded with coal.     The tall building near which we landed is called the "tipple." We shall learn later about the work done in it. Right now we are interested to learn that it covers the entrance to the mine. In it are what we should call the elevator shafts. A huge bucket, bringing up several tons of coal at a time, serves as a kind of dumb-waiter. The miners call it the "skip." A passenger elevator carries the miners down the shaft to their work and brings them up again. The miners call it the "cage."     Close by the tipple is the "hoist house." This building houses the machinery that lifts and lowers the cage and the skip.     We get permission to see the mine. A guide takes us to the shaft. We enter the cage, along with several miners. Down we drop into the darkness.