proved by the mine inspector of the district, shall be so placed as to prevent persons from falling into the shaft.

SEC. 239. The main coupling chain attached to the socket of the wire rope shall be made of the best quality of iron, and shall be tested by weights or otherwise to the satisfaction of the mine inspector of the district wherein the mine is located, and bridle chains shall be attached to the main hoisting rope above the socket, from the top crosspiece of the carriage or cage, so that no single chain shall be used for lowering or hoisting persons into or out of the mines.

Coupling

chains.

hoisted.

SEC. 240. No greater number of persons shall be lowered or Number of hoisted at any one time than may be permitted by the mine in- persons to be spector of the district, and notice of the number so allowed to be lowered or hoisted at any one time shall be kept posted up by the operator or superintendent in conspicuous places at the top and bottom of the shaft, and the aforesaid notice shall be signed by the mine inspector of the district.

SEC. 241. All machinery about mines from which any accident would be liable to occur shall be properly fenced off by suitable guard railing.

SEC. 242. The operator or superintendent of every bituminous coal mine, whether shaft, slope or drift, shall provide and hereafter maintain ample means of ventilation for the circulation of air through the main entries, cross entries and all other working places to an extent that will dilute, carry off and render harmless the noxious or dangerous gases generated in the mine, affording not less than one hundred cubic feet per minute for each and every person employed therin; but in a mine where fire damp has been detected the minimum shall be one hundred and fifty cubic feet per minute for each person employed therein, and as much more in either case as one or more of the mine inspectors may deem requisite.

Machinery to be fenced.

Ventilation.

persons allowed

SEC. 243. After May thirtieth, one thousand eight hundred and Number of ninety-four, not more than sixty-five persons shall be permitted to to each air curwork in the same air current: Provided, That a larger number, rent. not exceeding one hundred may be allowed by the mine inspector where, in his judgment, it is impracticable to comply with the foregoing requirement; and mines where more than ten persons are employed shall be provided with a fan[,] furnace or other artificial means to produce the ventilation, and all stoppings between main intake and return air ways hereinafter built or replaced shall be substantially built with suitable material, which shall be approved by the inspector of the district.

SEC. 244. All ventilating fans shall be kept in operation continuously night and day, unless operations are indefinitely suspended, except written permission is given by the mine inspector of the district to stop the same, and the said written permission shall state the particular hours the said fan may not be in operation, and the mine inspector shall have power to withdraw or modify such permission as he may deem best, but in all cases the fan shall be started two hours before the time to begin work. When the fan may be stopped by permission of the mine inspector a notice printed in the various languages used by persons employed in the mine, stating at what hour or hours the fan will be stopped, shall be posted by the mine foreman in a conspicuous place at the entrance or entrances to the mine. Said printed notices shall be furnished by the mine inspector and the cost thereof borne by the State.

SEC. 245. Should it at any time become necessary to stop the fan on account of accident or needed repairs to any part of the machinery connected therewith, or by reason of any other unavoidable cause, it shall then be the duty of the mine foreman or any other officials in charge, after first having provided, as far as possible, for the safety of the persons employed in the mine, to order said fan to be stopped so as to make the necessary repairs or to

H. Doc. 733, 58-2-64

Ventilating

fans.

Stoppage of fans.

remove any other difficulty that may have been the cause of its Furnaces,etc. stoppage. And all ventilating furnaces in mines shall, for two hours before the appointed time to begin work and during working hours, be properly attended by a person employed for that purpose. In mines generating fire damp in sufficient quantities to be detected by ordinary safety lamps, all main air bridges or overcasts made after the passage of this act shall be built of masonry or other incombustible material of ample strength or be driven through the solid strata.

Doors to be self-closing.

Gas-producing

mines.

Examination by fire boss.

Bore holes in certain mines.

SEC. 246. In all mines the doors used in guiding and directing the ventilation of the mine shall be so hung and adjusted that they will close themselves, or be supplied with springs or pulleys so that they can not be left standing open, and an attendant shall be employed at all principal doors through which cars are hauled, for the purpose of opening and closing said doors when trips of cars are passing to and from the workings, unless an approved selfacting door is used, which principal doors shall be determined by the mine inspector or mine foreman. A hole for shelter shall be provided at each door so as to protect said attendant from being run over by the cars while attending to his duties, and persons employed for this purpose shall at all times remain at their post of duty during working hours: Provided, That the same person may attend two doors where the distance between them is not more than one hundred feet. On every inclined plane or road in any mine where haulage is done by machinery and where a door is used, an extra door shall be provided to be used in case of necessity.

SEC. 247. All mines generating fire damp shall be kept free of standing gas in all working places and roadways. No accumulation of explosive gas shall be allowed to exist in the worked out or abandoned parts of any mine when it is practicable to remove it. and the entrance or entrances to said worked out and abandoned places shall be properly fenced off and cautionary notices shall be posted upon said fencing to warn persons of danger.

SEC. 248. In all mines wherein explosive gas has been generated within the period of six months next preceding the passage of this act, and also in all mines where fire damp shall be generated, after the passage of this act, in sufficient quantities to be detected by the ordinary safety lamp, every working place without exception and all roadways shall be carefully examined immediately before each shift by a person or persons appointed by the superintendent and mine foreman for that purpose. The person or persons making such examination shall have received a fire boss certificate of competency required by this act, and shall use no light other than that inclosed in a safety lamp while making said examination. In all cases said examination shall be begun within three hours prior to the appointed time of each shift commencing to work, and it shall be the duty of the said fire boss, at each examination, to leave at the face and side of every place so examined, evidence of his presence. And he shall also, at each examination, inspect the entrance or entrances to the worked out or abandoned parts which are adjacent to the roadways and working places of the mine where fire damp is likely to accumulate, and where danger is found to exist he shall place a danger signal at the entrance or entrances to such places, which shall be sufficient warning for persons not to enter said place.

SEC. 249. In any place that is being driven toward or in dangerous proximity to an abandoned mine or part of a mine suspected of containing inflammable gases, or which may be inundated with water, bore holes shall be kept not less than twelve feet in advance of the face, and on the sides of such working places, said side holes to be drilled diagonally not more than eight feet apart, and any place driven to tap water or gas shall not be more than ten feet wide, and no water or gas from an abandoned mine or part of a mine and no bore hole from the surface shall be tapped until the employees, except those engaged at such work, are out

of the mine and such work to be done under the immediate instruction of the mine foreman.

SEC. 250. The fire boss shall, at each entrance to the mine or in the main intake air way near to the mine entrance, prepare a permanent station with the proper danger signal designated by suitable letters and colors placed thereon, and it shall not be lawful for any person or persons, except the mine officials in cases of necessity, and such other persons as may be designated by them, to pass beyond said danger station until the mine has been examined by the fire boss as aforesaid and the same, or certain parts thereof, reported by him to be safe, and in all mines where operations are temporarily suspended the superintendent and mine foreman shall see that a danger signal be placed at the mine entrance or entrances, which shall be a sufficient warning to persons not to enter the mine, and if the ordinary circulation of air through the mine be stopped, each entrance to said mine shall be securely fenced off and a danger signal shall be displayed upon said fence, and any workman or other person (except those persons hereinbefore provided for), passing by any danger signal into the mine before it has been examined and reported to be safe as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and it shall be the duty of the fire boss, mine foreman, superintendent or any employee of the mine to forthwith notify the mine inspector, who shall enter proceedings against such person or persons as provided for in section two of article twenty-one of this act [sec. 384].

SEC. 251. All entries, tunnels, air ways, traveling ways and other Safety lamps. working places of a mine where explosive gas is being generated in such quantities as can be detected by the ordinary safety lamp, and pillar workings and other working places in any mine where a sudden inflow of said explosive gas is likely to be encountered (by reason of the subsidence of the overlying strata or from other causes), shall be worked exclusively with locked safety lamps. The use of open lights is also prohibited in all working places, roadways and other parts of the mine through which fire damp might be carried in the air current in dangerous quantities. In all mines or parts of mines worked with locked safety lamps,

the use of electric wires and electric currents is positively prohib- Electric wires. ited, unless said wires and machinery and all other mechanical devices attached thereto and connected therewith are constructed and protected in such a manner as to secure freedom from the emission of sparks or flame therefrom into the atmosphere of the mine.

SEC. 252. After January first, one thousand eight hundred and Use of certain ninety-four, the use of the common Davy safety lamp for general lamps. work in any bituminous coal mine is hereby prohibited, neither shall the Clanny lamp be so used unless its gauze is thoroughly protected by a metallic shield, but this act does not prohibit the use of the Davy and Clanny lamps by the mine officials for the purpose of examining the workings for gas.

SEC. 253. All safety lamps used for examining mines or for Care, etc., of working therein shall be the property of the operator, and shall lamps. be in the care of the mine foreman, his assistant or fire boss or other competent person, who shall clean, fill, trim, examine and deliver the same, locked, in a safe condition, to the men when entering the mine before each shift and shall receive the same from the men at the end of each shift, for which service a charge not exceeding cost of labor and material may be made by the operator. A sufficient number of safety lamps, but not less than twenty-five per centum of those in use, shall be kept at each mine where gas has at any time been generated in sufficient quantities to be detected by an ordinary safety lamp, for use in case of emergency. It shall be the duty of every person who knows his safety lamp to be injured or defective, to promptly report such fact to the party authorized herein to receive and care for said lamps, and it shall be the duty of that party to promptly report such fact to the mine foreman.

tions.

Duties.

Mine foreman SEC. 254. In order to better secure the proper ventilation of the to be employed. bituminous coal mines and promote the health and safety of the persons employed therein, the operator or superintendent shall employ a competent and practical inside overseer for each and Qualifica- every mine, to be called mine foreman; said mine foreman shall have passed an examination and obtained a certificate of competency or of service as required by this act, and shall be a citizen of the United States and an experienced coal miner, and said mine foreman shall devote the whole of his time to his duties at the mine when in operation, or in case of his necessary absence, an assistant chosen by him, and shall keep a careful watch over the ventilating apparatus, and the air ways, traveling ways, pump and pump timbers and drainage, and shall often instruct, and as far as possible, see that as the miners advance their excavations all dangerous coal, slate and rock overhead are taken down or carefully secured against falling therein, or on the traveling and hauling ways, and that sufficient props, caps and timbers of suitable size are sent into the mine when required, and all props shall be cut square at both ends, and as near as practicable to a proper length for the places where they are to be used, and such props, caps and timbers shall be delivered in the working places of the mine.

Timbers.

Cut throughs.

Places of refuge.

SEC. 255. Every workman in want of props or timbers and cap pieces shall notify the mine foreman or his assistant of the fact at least one day in advance, giving the length and number of props or timbers and cap pieces required, but in cases of emergency the timbers may be ordered immediately upon the discovery of any danger. (The place and manner of leaving the orders for the timber shall be designated and specified in the rules of the mine.) And if, from any cause, the timbers can not be supplied when required, he shall instruct the persons to vacate all said working places until supplied with the timber needed, and shall see that all water be drained or hauled out of all working places before the miner enters, and as far as practicable kept dry while the miner is at work [sic].

SEC. 256. It shall be the duty of the mine foreman to see that proper cut throughs are made in all the rooms, pillars at such distances apart as in the judgment of the mine inspector may be deemed requisite, not more than thirty-five nor less than sixteen yards each, for the purpose of ventilation, and the ventilation shall be conducted through said cut throughs into the rooms by means of check doors made of canvas or other suitable material, placed on the entries or in other suitable places, and he shall not permit any room to be opened in advance of the ventilating current. Should the mine inspector discover any room, entry, air way or other working places being driven in advance of the air current contrary to the requirements of this section, he shall order the workmen working in such places to cease work at once until the law is complied with.

After a mine inspector has ordered men to cease work until the law is complied with, he has no authority to compel the operator to put the places, wherein the men were stopped from working, in a lawful condition and demand the reinstatement of the men. 14 Co. C. Rep. 96.

SEC. 257. In all hauling roads, on which hauling is done by animal power, and whereon men have to pass to and from their work, holes for shelter, which shall be kept clear of obstruction, shall be made at least every thirty yards and be kept whitewashed, but shelter holes shall not be required in entries from which rooms are driven at regular intervals not exceeding fifty feet,[.] where there is a space four feet between the wagon and rib, it shall be deemed sufficient for shelter. On all hauling roads whereon hauling is done by machinery, and all gravity or inclined planes inside mines upon which the persons employed in the mine must travel on foot to and from their work, such shelter holes shall be cut not less than two feet six inches into the strata and not more than fifteen yards apart, unless there is a space of at least six feet from the side of the car to the side of the roadway, which space shall be deemed sufficient for shelter:

Provided, That this requirement shall not apply to any parts of mines, which parts were opened prior to the passage of this act [secs. 226 to 393], if deemed impracticable by the mine inspector. SEC. 258. The mine foreman shall measure the air current at Air current to be measured. least once a week at the inlet and outlet and at or near the faces of the entries, and shall keep a record of such measurements. An anemometer shall be provided for this purpose by the operator of the mine. It shall be the further duty of the mine foreman to require the workmen to use locked safety lamps when and where required by this act.

Reports of

SEC. 259. The mine foreman shall give prompt attention to the removal of all dangers reported to him by the fire boss or any danger. other person working in the mine, and in mines where a fire boss is not employed, the said mine foreman or his assistant shall visit and examine every working place therein at least once every alternate day while the miners of such place are or should

be at work, and shall direct that each and every working place Inspection. be properly secured by props or timbers, and that no person shall be directed or permitted to work in an unsafe place unless it be for the purpose of making it safe: Provided, That if the owner or operator of any mine employing a fire boss shall require the mine foreman to examine every working place every alternate day, then it shall be the duty of the mine foreman to do so.

SEC. 260. When the mine foreman is unable personally, to carry out all the requirements of this act as pertaining to his duties, he shall employ a competent person or persons not objectionable to the operator, to act as his assistant or assistants, who shall act under his instructions, and in all mines where fire damp is generated the said assistant or assistants shall possess a certificate of competency as mine foreman or fire boss.

SEC. 261. A suitable record book, with printed head lines, prepared by and approved by the mine inspector, the same to be provided at the expense of the Commonwealth, shall be kept at each mine generating explosive gases, and immediately after each examination of the mine made by the fire boss, or fire bosses, a record of the same shall be entered in said book, signed by the person or persons making such examination, which shall clearly state the nature and location of any danger which he or they may have discovered, and the fire boss or fire bosses shall immediately report such danger and the location of the same to the mine foreman, whose duty it shall be to remove the danger or cause the same to be done forthwith as far as practicable, and the mine foreman shall also each day countersign all reports entered by the fire boss or fire bosses.

SEC. 262. At all mines the mine foreman shall enter in a book provided as above by the mine inspector, a report of the condition of the mine signed by himself, which shall clearly state any danger that may have come under his observation during the day, and shall also state whether he has a proper supply of material on hand for the safe working of the mine, and whether all requirements of the law are strictly complied with. He shall, once each week, enter or cause to be entered plainly, with ink, in said book, a true record of all air measurements required by this act, and such book shall, at all times, be kept at the mine office for examination by the mine inspector of the district and any other person working in the mines.

Assistant

foreman.

Record of inspections.

Reports.

Materials to

SEC. 263. It shall be the duty of the superintendent, on behalf and at the expense of the operator, to keep on hand at the mines be provided. at all times, a full supply of all materials and supplies required to preserve the health and safety of the employees as ordered by the mine foreman and required by this act. He shall, at least once a week, examine and countersign-which countersignature of the superintendent shall be held, under this act, to have no further bearing than the evidence of the fact that the mine superintendent has read the matter entered on the book-all reports entered in the mine record book, and if he finds that the law is being violated in any particular, he shall order the mine foreman