WW1 is when drones were first invented, that's why you only see the one (pigeon) model. Nowadays we have all sorts of advanced models - bluejays, crows, vultures...
Mm. By 1910, payments for remission of serfdom had ended, and mining is generally not what people move on to when they have a reasonable choice. For that matter, they may only be mining as a supplement to their farmwork, as many pre-modern populations did.
"Hans, you know how the modern battlefield has machine guns, quick-firing rifles, chemical gas, and long-range artillery? We're going to need you to charge into the guys firing those. On a horse. With a pointy bit of metal. While half-blind from your mask."