Duty of owners, &c., in regard to ventilation of mines.

Fire damp.

SECTION 4. The owner or agent of every bituminous coal mine, whether shaft, or slope, or drift, shall provide and hereafter maintain for every such mine ample means of ventilation, affording not less than one hundred cubic feet per minute for each and every person employed in said mine, and as much more as the circumstances may require, which shall be circulated around the main headings and crossheadings and working places to an extent that will dilute, carry off and render harmless the noxious or dangerous gases generated therein; and all mines generating fire-damp shall be kept free of standing gas in the worked-out or abandoned parts of the same as far as practicable, and the entrance thereto shall be properly closed, and cautionary notice shall be posted to warn persons of danger; and every working place, and all other places, where gas is known to exist or supposed to exist, shall be carefully examined by the fire boss, immediately before each shift, with a safety lamp, and in making said examination, it shall be the duty of the fire boss at each examination to leave at the face of every place, so examined, evidence of his presence; and it from entering mine shall not be lawful for any miner to enter any mine or part of a mine generating fire-damp, until it has been examined by the fire boss as aforesaid and reported by him to be safe.

Fire-boss to examine before every shift.

Miners prohibited

until it has been ex

amined.

Mining boss to be employed.

His qualifications, and duties in regard to ventilation, &c.

Loose coal.

bers.

SECTION 5. In order to better secure the proper ventilation of every coal mine, and promote the health and safety of the persons employed therein, the owner or agent shall employ a competent and practical inside overseer, to be called mining boss, who shall be a citizen and an experienced coal miner, and shall keep a careful watch over the ventilating apparatus and the air-ways, travelling-ways, pumps and pump timbers and drainage; and shall see that, as the miners advance their excavations, all loose coal, slate and rock overhead are carefully secured against falling therein, or on Props, caps and tim- the traveling-ways; and that sufficient props, caps and timbers are furnished, of suitable size and 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 or timbers shall be delivered and placed in the working places of the miners, and every workman in want of props or timber and cap pieces shall notify the mining boss 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 said working places shall be vacated 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. And it shall be the duty of the mining boss to see that proper cut-throughs are made in the room pillars of the miners' places, at such distances apart as in the judg

Drainage.

Out-throughs.

ment of the inspector may be deemed requisite, not more than thirty-five nor less than sixteen yards each, for the purpose of ventilation. And in all traveling ways or road, holes for shelter shall be made at least every thirty yards Holes for shelter. and be kept whitewashed, a space two feet six inches between the wagon and the rib shall be deemed sufficient for

measured.

ments to be kept, &c.

Copy of measuresent monthly to the inspector.

ments, &c., to be

nished by the inspector.

Blanks to be fur

Mining boss to notify owner, in writing, of inability to comply with act. Duty of superin

tendent.

Safety lamps to be property of owner

of mines.

shelter. And the mining boss shall measure the air cur- Air currents to be rent, at least once a week, at the inlet and outlet and at or near the face of the headings, he shall keep a record of such measurements, which shall be placed by him in a book kept Record of measurefor that purpose, the said book to be open for the examining of the inspector of the district; he shall also, on or about the fifteenth day of each month, mail to the inspector of his district a true copy of the air measurements given, stating also the number of persons employed in or about said mine, the number of mules and horses used, and the number days worked in each month. Blanks for such purpose shall be furnished him by the inspector of the district. It shall be the further duty of the mining boss to immediately notify the agent or owner of the mine, in writing, of his inability to comply with the provisions of this section. It shall then become the duty of said superintend. ent, operator, lessee or owner, at once to attend to the matter complained of by the mining boss, to comply with the provisions hereof. The safety lamps used for examining mines, or which may be used in working therein, shall be furnished by and be the property of the owner of said mines, and shall be in charge of the agent of such mine; and in all mines, the doors, used in assisting or directing the ven- Adjustment of doors tilation of the mine, shall be so hung and adjusted that they will close themselves, or be supplied with springs or pulleys so that they cannot be left standing open; and bore Bore holes. holes shall be kept not less than twelve feet in advance of the face, and when necessary, on the sides of working places, which are being driven towards and in dangerous proximity to an abandoned mine, or part of a mine suspected of containing inflammable gases, or which is inundated with water. The mining boss, his assistant, or assistants, shall visit and examine every working place in the mine, 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 be properly secured by props or timber, so that safety in all respects be assured, and that no person shall be directed to work in an unsafe place, unless it be for the purpose of making it safe. All owners or operators of bituminous coal mines shall keep posted, in a conspicuous place about their mines, printed rules, submitted to and approved by the district mining inspector, defining the duties of all persons employed in or about said mines or colleries, which said notice shall be printed in the language or languages used by any ten miners working therein.

SECTION 6. Any miners, workmen or other person, who shall intentionally injure any shaft, lamp, instrument, air

14 LAWS.

used for ventilation.

visitation and examination to be nate day.

made every alter

Printed rules to be kept posted.

Wilful injury to

shaft, lamp, &c., meanor.

declared a misde

course or brattice, or obstruct or throw open air-ways, or carry lighted pipes or matches into places that are worked by safety lamps, or handle or disturb any part of the machinery, or open a door and not close it again, or enter any place of the mine against caution, or disobey any order given in carrying out the provisions of this act, or dc any other act whereby the lives or the health of persons, or the security of the mines or the machinery, is endangered, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be punished in a manner provided in the twenty-first section of this act; all machinery about mines shall be properly fenced off, and there shall be cut, in the side of every hoisting shaft at the Traveling way to be bottom thereof, a traveling way sufficiently high and wide to enable persons to pass the shaft, in going from one side of the mine to the other, without passing over or under the cage or other hoisting apparatus.

Punishment.

Machinery, &c., to be fenced off.

cut in the side of

every hoisting

shaft.

Proceedings for making openings on adjoining lands.

Viewers to be appointed and their duties.

Damages to be assessed.

Notice of view.

Report of viewers.

SECTION 7. If any person, firm or corporation is or shall hereafter be seized in his or their own right of coal lands, and it shall not be practicable to comply with the requirements of this act in regard to drainage and ventilation, by means of openings on his or their own land, and the same can be done by means of openings on adjacent lands, he or they may apply by petition to the court of quarter sessions of the proper county, after ten days notice to the owner or owners, their agent or attorney, setting forth the facts under oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place or places where such opening or openings can be made, and that he or they cannot agree with the owner or owners of the land as to the amount to be paid, for the privilege of making such opening or openings; whereupon, the said court shall appoint three disinterested and competent citizens of the county to view the ground designated, and lay out, from the point or points mentioned in such petition, a passage or passages for air and water, not more than sixteen feet in diameter, by the shortest and most convenient route to the coal of such person, firm or corporation, preferring in all cases an opening through the coal strata where the same is practicable; the said viewers shall at the same time assess the damages to be paid by the petitioner or petitioners to the owner or owners of such lands, which damages shall be fully paid before such opening is made. It shall be the duty of the petitioner, or the viewers, to give notice, by at least three written or printed hand-bills posted on the premises at or near the place where such opening is proposed to be made at least five days prior to the time of meeting to attend to the duties of their appointment, setting forth distinctly the time, place and object of their meeting, and also to give personal notice to the owners, their agents or attorneys, if residing in the same county; and the said viewers shall, within thirty days after their appointment, make report of their proceedings to the said court, stating the amount of damages awarded, accompanied by a map or plan of the proposed openings; and if no ex

recorded in road docket.

Pay of viewers.

Exceptions

when bond may be given pending pro

ceedings.

In year 1889, and every four years

thereafter, govtwo mining engi

ernor to appoint

neers.

Qualifications.

President judges to miners.

appoint three

miners.

ceptions be filed to the said report within ten days after Confirmation of renotice to the opposite party, his agent or attorney, of the port. filing of said report, it shall be marked confirmed by the clerk, and the petitioner or petitioners may proceed to make said opening or openings, and shall have the right to use. the same for the purpose of ventilation and drainage as aforesaid and as a passage way. The proceedings shall be Proceedings to be recorded in the road docket of the proper county, and the pay of viewers shall be the same as in road cases. If exceptions be filed they shall be disposed of by the said court as speedily as possible, and both parties to have the right to take depositions as in road cases. If, however, the petitioner desires to make such opening before the final disposition of such exceptions, he shall have the right to do so, by giving bond to be approved by the court securing the damages as provided by law in the case of lateral railroads. SECTION 8. In the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, and every four years thereafter, the Governor shall, as hereinafter provided, during the month of February, appoint two mining engineers of good repute and of known experience and practice at the time; he also shall, as hereinafter provided, during the same month and every four years thereafter, notify three president judges of the courts of common pleas of the judicial districts of the State containing bituminous coal mines, whose duty it shall be, each of them, to appoint one reputable miner, of at least five Qualifications of years practical experience in the mining region of Pennsylvania, in practice at least three months prior to his appointment, and a citizen of the Commonwealth not less than five years: Provided, That any person having been employed, Certain miners disfive months prior to the meeting of the examining board, as Superintendent, State or county officer shall not serve on examining board. The two engineers and the three miners Board of examiners so appointed shall constitute a board of examiners, whose duty it shall be to inquire into the character and qualifications of candidates for the office of inspector of mines, under the provisions of this act. The examining board so constituted shall meet in the city of Pittsburg, on the first Monday of April, and, when called together by the Governor for extra occasions, at such time and place as he may designate, and after being duly organized and having taken and subscribed, before any officer authorized to administer the same, the following oath, namely: "We, the under signed, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that we will perform the duties, of examiners of applicants for appointment as inspectors of bituminous coal mines, to the best of our abilities, and that, in recommending or rejecting said applicants, we will be governed by the evidence of the qualification to fill the position, under the law creating the same and not by any consideration of political or other personal favor, that we will certify all whom we may find qualified according to the true intent and meaning of the act and none others," shall proceed to the examination, which shall be in

qualined.

constituted.

Duties of the board.

Time and place of

meeting.

Form of oath to be scribed.

taken and sub

Examination to be

in writing.

Names, &c, of

applicants to be sent

filed in the office of

the secretary of the commonwealth.

Percentage must not be less than ninety per cent.

Qualifications of candidates for office of inspectors.

Division of state into eight districts.

writing, of those who may represent themselves as candidates for said office; and they shall certify to the Governor the names of all such applicants as they shall find competto the governor, and ent to fill the office, under the provisions of this act, which names, with the certificates and their percentage and the oath of the examiner, shall be mailed to the Secretary of the Commonwealth and be filed in his office: Provided, That no person shall be returned as competent whose percentage shall be less than ninety per cent., and such certificate shall be valid only when recommended by four of the examining board. The qualification of candidates for said office of inspectors of mines, to be inquired into and certified by said examiners, shall be as follows, namely: They shall be citizens of Pennsylvania, of temperate habits, of good repute as men of personal integrity, shall have attained the age of thirty years, and shall have had at least five years practical experience in the workings of the coal mines of Pennsylvania, and, upon the examination, they shall give evidence of such theoretical as well as practical knowledge, and general intelligence regarding mines and mining and the working thereof, and all noxiors gases, as will satisfy the examiners of their capability and fitness for the duties imposed upon inspectors of mines, by the provisions of this act. The board of examiners shall also at their meeting, or when at any time called by the Governor together for an extra meeting, divide the bituminous coal counties of the State into eight inspection districts, as nearly equal to the labor to be performed as is possible, and, at any subsequent calling of the board of examiners, this division may be revised as experience may prove to be advisable; and they shall immediately after the examination furnish each person, who came before said examination board to be examined, all questions, which were given at the examination, on printed slips of paper and to be marked be marked and given solved right or wrong as the case may be. The board of examiners shall each receive five dollars per day, and all board of examiners. necessary expenses, to be paid out of the State Treasury. Upon the filing of the certificates of the examining board in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Governor to appoint Governor shall, from the names so certified, commission one inspectors from names so certified. person to be inspector of mines for each district, as fixed by the examiners in pursuance of the act, whose commission shall be for a full term of four years to be computed from the fifteenth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five: Always provided however, The highest candidate or candidates in percentage shall have priority to be commissioned for a full term, or unexpired term, before those candidates of a lower percentage, and in case of a tie in percentage the oldest candidate shall be commissioned. As often as vacancies occur in said offices of inspectors of mines, the Governor shall commission, for the unexpired term, from the names on file, the highest in percentage above ninety per centum, in the office of the Secretary of the Com

Division may be revised.

Printed slips of questions asked to

candidates.

Compensation of

Term of office.

Highest candidate to be preferred.

In case of a tie the oldest candidate.

Vacancies.