Where a mine inspector, appointed under this act, resigned after the act of June 8, 1901, took effect, the judges of the Common Pleas Court are authorized to fill the vacancy by the appointment of a qualified person.

Martin's Case, 29 County Ct. Rep. 290, p. 295.

2. INSPECTORS-STATE OFFICERS-CONTINUANCE IN OFFICE.

Article 15 of this act provides that courts of law or equity may prohibit by injunction certain conduct upon the application of the inspector of mines of the proper district acting in behalf of the Commonwealth, indicating that mine inspectors are not county officers.

Lamb's Nomination Petition, 251 Pa. St., 102, p. 106.

Under this act the mine inspectors in the anthracite regions were appointed for the period of five years by the governor upon the recommendation of the board of examiners from time to time as vacancies occurred. This method of selection was changed by the act of June 8, 1901 (P. L. 535), which provided that the office of mine inspector should be filled by election; but the act provided for the retention of the inspectors then serving until the expiration of their terms and no election can be held to select a successor to an incumbent until the expiration of his office.

Mine Inspector, In re (Opinion of Attorney General), 13 Pa. Dist. Rep. 725.

ELECTION AND DUTIES FIRST AMENDMENT.

LAWS 1901, P. 535.

JUNE 8, 1901.

AN ACT amending Article II of an act entitled "An act to provide for the health and safety of persons employed in and about the anthracite coal mines of Pennsylvania, and for the protection and preservation of property connected therewith," approved June 2, 1891.

ARTICLE II.

Secs. 1 Secs. 3 to 6,

NOTE.-Secs. 7 to 22, inclusive, of the amended Article II are inserted here. and 2 of the article are under the title Inspection Districts. (See p. 103.) inclusive, are under the Miners' Examining Board. (See p. 264.)

SEC. 7. At the next general election in November, the qualified voters of the first inspection district shall elect five qualified persons to act as mine inspectors of this Commonwealth; the qualified voters of the second inspection district shall elect four qualified persons to act as mine inspectors of this Commonweath; the qualified voters of the third inspection district shall elect one qualified person to act as mine inspector of this Commonwealth; the qualified voters of the fourth inspection district shall elect four qualified persons to act as mine inspectors of this Commonwealth; the qualified voters of the fifth inspection district shall elect one qualified person to act as mine inspector of this Commonwealth: Provided, That the present mine inspectors in the several inspection districts shall continue in office until the expiration of the terms for which they have been appointed, and the number of inspectors to be elected at the coming election shall be reduced by the number of inspectors now regularly appointed and serving in said districts. When the terms of the present inspectors shall expire, their successors shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of this act. At the said first election under this act in November, 1902, for said inspectors, the qualified electors of the first inspection district shall elect two inspectors; the qualified electors of the second inspection district

shall elect two inspectors; the qualified electors of the fourth inspection district shall elect two inspectors; the qualified electors of the fifth inspection district shall elect one inspector, and the qualified electors of the sixth inspection district shall elect one inspector. At the expiration of the term of office of any of the present inspectors, who hold office under the appointment of the governor of the Commonwealth, the qualified electors of the third inspection district shall elect one inspector, and as further vacancies are caused by the expiration of the term of office of the present inspectors, the qualified electors of the several inspection districts shall elect inspectors to take their places, beginning with the first inspection district, then the second inspection district, third inspection district, fourth inspection district, fifth inspection district, and sixth inspection district, until each inspection district has its full quota of elected inspectors under this act. Said inspectors, elected under this act, shall be under the direction of the chief of the bureau of mines, who shall assign districts to the several inspectors in the respective counties in which they are elected.

SEC. 8. Candidates for the office of mine inspector shall file with the county commissioners a certificate from the mine examining board, as above set forth, before their names shall be allowed to go upon the ballot as provided by the county commissioners for the general election; and the name of no person shall be placed upon the official ballot except such as has filed the certificate as herein required; and no person shall be qualified to act as such mine inspector unless such certificate has been previously filed with the county commissioners of his county.

SEC. 9. The person so elected must be a citizen of Pennsylvania and shall have attained the age of thirty years. He must have a knowledge of the different systems of work in coal mines, and he must produce satisfactory evidence to the board of examiners of having had at least five years' practical experience in anthracite coal mines of Pennsylvania. He must have had experience in coal mines where noxious and explosive gases are evolved.

Before entering upon the duties of his office he shall take an oath or affirmation before an officer properly qualified to administer the same that he will perform his duties with fidelity and impartiality; which oath or affirmation shall be filed in the office of the prothonotary of the county. He shall provide himself with the most modern instruments and appliances for carrying out the intentions of this act.

SEC. 10. The salary of each of the said inspectors shall be three thousand dollars per annum, which salary, together with the expenses incurred in carrying into effect the provisions of this act, shall be paid by the State treasurer out of the treasury of the Commonwealth upon the warrant of the auditor general.

SEC. 11. Each of the said inspectors shall hold said office for a term of three years from the first Monday of January immediately succeeding his election to said office and until his successor is duly elected and qualified.

(See act of May 5, 1911, p. 131.)

SEC. 12. It shall be the duty of the chief of bureau of mines and mining to direct one or more of the inspectors who shall be elected under this act, and it shall be the duty of said inspectors to obey said orders of the said chief of bureau of mines and mining, to inspect such collieries as come under the act to which this act is an amendment in counties not mentioned in this amendment to said act, in such manner and at such times as is required by law, and the inspectors inspecting said collieries shall make and include in their return a due report of said inspection.

SEC. 13. In case of death, resignation, removal from office, or other vacancies in the office of mine inspector before the expiration of said term of office, the

judges of the court of common pleas of the county in which said vacancy occurs shall appoint a duly qualified person to fill said vacancy for the unexpired term. Said appointee to be one of the persons having filed with the county commissioners of said county a certificate from the board of examiners, showing he passed a successful examintion before the said board and is duly qualified as hereinbefore mentioned.

SEC. 14. In case the inspector becomes incapacitated to perform the duties of his office for a longer period than two weeks it shall be the duty of the judges of the court of common pleas of the county from which said inspector was elected to deputize some competent person, recommended by the board of examiners, to fill the office of inspector until the said inspector shall be able to fulfill the duties of his office, and the person so appointed shall be paid in the same manner as is provided for the inspector of mines.

SEC. 15. Each of the said inspectors shall reside in the district for which he is elected, and shall give his whole time and attention to the duties of his office. He shall examine all the collieries in his district at least once every two months, as often in addition thereto as the necessities of the case or the condition of the mines require. He shall see that every necessary precaution is taken to secure the safety of the workmen and that the provisions of this act are observed and obeyed; and he shall personally visit each working face and see that the air current is carried to the working faces and is of sufficient quantity or volume to thoroughly ventilate the places. He shall every three months make a report of the condition of each working face in each colliery on a form to be furnished to the inspectors by the chief of the bureau of mines and mining, designating the gangway in which the working is situated, and the breast number of said working and their condition shall be designated by the words good, fair, or bad, as the circumstances may warrant; and the said report, or a duplicate, shall be placed in a weather and dust-proof case with a glass front; said case to be furnished by the operator and placed in a conspicuous place at each mine opening, shaft, slope, or drift, so that the workmen have easy access thereto. He shall certify in said report that the employees are hoisted to the surface of the ground or given access thereto according to law; he shall attend every inquest held by the coroner or his deputy upon the bodies of persons killed in or about the collieries in his district; he shall visit the scene of the accident, for the purpose of making an examination into the particulars of the same, wherever loss of life or serious personal injury occurs, as elsewhere herein provided for, and make an annual report of his proceedings to the secretary of internal affairs of the Commonwealth at the close of every year, enumerating all the accidents in and about the collieries in his district, marking in tabular form those accidents causing death or serious personal injury, the condition of the workings of the said mines with regard to the safety of the workmen therein and the ventilation thereof, and the results generally shall be fully set forth; and such other duties as now are or hereafter may be required by law.

SEC. 16. The nomination and election of said mine inspectors shall be under the general election laws of this Commonwealth.

SEC. 17. The mine inspector shall have the right, and it is hereby made his duty, to enter, inspect, and examine any mine or colliery in the territory allotted to him and the workings and machinery belonging thereto, at all reasonable times, either by day or by night, but not so as to obstruct or impede the working of the colliery, and shall have power to take one or more of his fellow inspectors into or around any mine or colliery in the territory allotted to him for the purpose of consultation or examination.

He shall also have the right, and it is hereby made his duty to make inquiry into the condition of such mine or colliery workings, machinery, ventilation, drainage, method of lighting or using lights, and into all matters and things connected with or relating to, as well as to make suggestions providing for, the health and safety of persons employed in or about the same, and especially to make inquiry whether the provisions of this act have been complied with.

The owner, operator or superintendent of such mine or colliery is hereby required to furnish the means necessary for such entry, inspection, examination, inquiry and exit.

The inspector shall make a record of the visit, noting the time and material circumstances of the inspection.

SEC. 18. No person who shall act or practice as a land agent or as a manager or agent of any coal mine or colliery, who is pecuniarily interested in operating any coal mine or colliery, shall at the same time hold the office of inspector of mines under this act.

SEC. 19. Whenever a petition signed by fifty or more reputable coal miners, or by fifteen or more reputable coal operators, or more, or both, setting forth that any inspector of mines neglects his duties, or is incompetent, or is guilty of malfeasance in office, it shall be the duty of the court of common pleas from which said inspector was elected to issue a citation, in the name of the Commonwealth, to the said inspector to appear at not less than five days' notice, on a day fixed, before said court, and the court shall then proceed to inquire into and Investigate the allegations of the petitioners. If the court finds that the said inspector is neglectful of his duties, or is incompetent to perform the duties of his office for any cause that existed previous to his election, or that has arisen since his election, or that he is guilty of malfeasance in office, the court shall declare the said inspector removed from office and proceed to fill the vacancy. The cost of said investigation shall be borne by the removed inspector; but if the allegations in the petition are not sustained, the cost shall be paid by the treasurer of this Commonwealth upon warrant of the auditor general, or by the petitioners in case the court finds that there was no probable ground for said charge.

SEC. 20. The maps and plans of the mines and the records thereof, together with all the papers relating thereto, shall be kept by the inspector, properly arranged and preserved, in a convenient place in the territory to which the inspector has been allotted, and shall be transferred by him, with any other property of the Commonwealth that may be in his possession, to his successor in office. SEC. 21. This act shall go into effect from January 1, 1902.

SEC. 22. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

ANNOTATIONS.

INSPECTORS-ELECTION AND APPOINTMENT.

1. ELECTION OF INSPECTORS-STATE OFFICERS CONTINUANCE IN OFFICENOMINATIONS.

2. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE-PROCEEDINGS.

3. VACANCY-PROVISIONS FOR FILLING

PURPOSE.

4. VACANCY--APPOINTMENT BY JUDGE QUALIFICATIONS OF APPOINTEE.

5. APPLICANT'S KNOWLEDGE OF SYSTEMS OF WORK.

6. QUALIFICATIONS-PROOF OF EXPERIENCE.

7. REELECTION-HOLDING OVER-NEW EXAMINATION.

8. INSPECTORS UNDER CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT.

9. AUTHORITY AS TO LOCATION OF BREAKER.

10. COLLIERY-ALL MINING OPERATIONS INCLUDED.

1. ELECTION OF INSPECTORS-STATE OFFICERS-CONTINUANCE IN OFFICE-NOMINA

TIONS.

The act of June 8, 1901 (P. L. 535) was a repeal of the act of June 2, 1891 (P. L. 176), so far as it related to the appointment of inspectors of mines and by this act the office became elective. Inspectors are now and have always been paid by the State treasurer. They are under the direction of the chief of the department of mines, who assigns districts to them in their respective counties in which they are elected. They are elected by the qualified voters of the eight inspection districts.

Lamb's Nomination Petition, 251 Pa. St. 102, p. 105.

Sec. 7 of this act provides for the election of five qualified persons to act "as mine inspectors of this Commonwealth," showing that the office of mine inspector is a State office.

Lamb's Nomination Petition, 251 Pa. St. 102, p. 106.

The provisions of this act with those of the act of May 5, 1911 (P. L. 120), as well as those of the older acts of April 12, 1869 (P. L. 852), and of March 3, 1870 (P. L. 3), make it impossible to conclude otherwise than that the mine inspector or inspector of mines is an officer of the State and the law distinctly provides for their election at the general election and settled the point that mine inspectors are State officers and in accordance with the constitution and the law they must be elected at the general elections.

Lamb's Nomination Petition, 251 Pa. St. 102, p. 107.

Under this act, considered in connection with the act of May 5, 1911, and the older act of June 2, 1891, the office of mine inspector is a State office and candidates therefor can be voted for in an even numbered year.

Lamb's Nomination Petition, 251 Pa. St. 102, p. 108.

This act changed the method of selecting mine inspectors from that of appointment by the governor to an election at a general election. But the act continued all mine inspectors in their respective offices until the expiration of the terms for which they were appointed. Under its provisions there can be no election to select a successor to an inspector holding under an appointment under the act of 1891 until the expiration of his term of office.

Stein's Case, 29 Pa. County Ct. Rep. 363, p. 364. (Opinion of Attorney General.)

This act changed the method of selection of mine inspectors from appointment by the governor to election at the general elections, but it provided that no election should take place until the expiration of the terms of the present incumbents. It also provided for the filling of vacancies.

Mine Inspector, In re (Opinion of Attorney General), 13 Pa. Dist. Rep. 725.

2. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE-PROCEEDINGS.

Section 19 of this act provides a statutory proceeding by which an inspector of mines, whether appointed to fill a vacancy or elected to fill the full term, can be deprived of his office on a summary hearing by the court upon charges preferred by fifty or more reputable coal miners. All such proceedings must show a clear statutory authority to support them and must follow the statutory provisions strictly. A petition setting forth none of the grounds within the satute can not invoke the jurisdiction of a court for the removal of a mine inspector.

Marlin, In re, 209 Pa. St. 266, p. 273.