unexpired term before those candidates of lower percentage, and in case of a tie in percentage the oldest candidate shall be commissioned.

ARTICLE XV.

EXAMINATIONS OF MINE FOREMEN AND FIRE BOSSES.

SEC. 1. On the petition of the mine inspector the court of common pleas in any county in said district shall appoint an examining board of three persons, consisting of a mine inspector, a miner, and an operator or superintendent, which said miner shall have received a certificate of competency as mine foreman in mines generating explosive gases, and the members of said examining board shall be citizens of this Commonwealth, and the persons so appointed shall, after being duly organized, take and subscribe before an officer authorized to administer the same the following oath, namely: "We the undersigned do solemnly swear (or affirm) that we will perform the duties of examiners of applicants for the position of mine foreman and fire bosses of butimunious coal mines to the best of our abilities, and that in certifying or rejecting said applicants we will be governed by the evidence of the qualifications to fill the position under the law creating the same and not by any consideration of personal favor; that we will certify all whom we may find qualified and none others."

SEC. 2. The examining board shall examine any person applying thereto as to his competency and qualifications to discharge the duties of mine foreman or fire boss.

Applicants for mine foreman or fire boss certificates shall be at least twentythree years of age, and shall have had at least five years practical experience, after fifteen years of age, as miners, superintendent at or inside of the bituminous mines of Pennsylvania and shall be citizens of this Commonwealth and men of good moral character and of known temperate habits.

The said board shall be empowered to grant certificates of competency of two grades, namely: certificates of first grade, to persons who have had experience in mines generating explosive gases and who shall have the necessary qualifications to fulfill the duties of mine foreman in such mines; and certifi cates of second grade, to persons who give satisfactory evidence of their ability to act as mine foremen in mines not generating explosive gases.

SEC. 3. The said board of examiners shall meet at the call of the mine inspector and shall grant certificates to all persons whose examination shall disclose their fitness for the duties of mine foreman as above classified, or fire boss, and such certificates shall be sufficient evidence of the holder's competency for the duties of said position so far as relates to the purposes of this act: Provided, That all persons holding certificates of competency granted under the provisions of the act to which this is a supplement shall continue to act under this act: And provided further, That any person acting as mine foreman upon a certificate of service under the act to which this is a supplement may continue to act in the same capacity at any mine where the general conditions affecting the health and safety of the persons employed do not differ materially from those at the mine in which he was acting when said certificate was granted: Provided however, That if such mine foreman leaves his present employer and secures employment elsewhere at any mine where in the judg ment of the mine inspector of the district the conditions affecting the health and safety of the persons employed do differ materially from those at the mine at which he was employed when his certificate was granted, it shall

then be the duty of the mine inspector of the district in which he has secured employment to serve written protest against such mine foreman's employment to the operator of said mine.

SEC. 4. The examining board shall hold their office for a period of four years from their appointment and shall receive five dollars per day for each day necessarily employed and mileage at the rate of three cents per mile for each mile necessarily traveled and all other necessary expenses connected with the examination shall be paid by the Commonwealth. Each applicant before being examined shall pay the examining board the sum of one dollar, and one dollar additional for each certificate granted, which shall be for the use of the Commonwealth. The foregoing examination shall be held annually in each inspection district.

BOARD TO EXAMINE INSPECTORS.

LAWS 1911, 756, P. 808.

JUNE 9, 1911.

AN ACT to provide for the health and safety of persons employed in and about the bituminous coal mines of Pennsylvania, and for the protection and preservation of property connected therewith.

NOTE.-Secs. 1 to 4, inclusive, of Article XIX, and secs. 1 to 4, inclusive, of Article XXIV, are inserted here. The body of the act is under the title Mining OperationsBituminous Coal Mines. (See p. 686.)

ARTICLE XIX.

MINE INSPECTORS' EXAMINING BOARD.

SEC. 1. The governor shall appoint during the month of January, 1913, and every four years thereafter, five citizens of this Commonwealth, of good repute, to be known as the mine inspectors' examining board, whose duty it shall be to examine applicants for the office of inspector in the bituminous coal region of this Commonwealth. Two of the members of said board shall be mining engineers, and three of the members shall have passed successful examinations qualifying them to act as inspectors or mine foremen in bituminous mines generating explosive gas, and shall have had at least five years' practical experience as miners in the bituminous mines of Pennsylvania. Applicants for appointment on the said examining board shall be at least thirty years of age.

Each member of the examining board shall receive the sum of ten dollars a day for each day actually employed and all necessary expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this article, which shall be paid out of the State treasury, on warrant of the auditor general, issued upon presentation of vouchers properly made out and sworn to by each member of the board, and approved by the chief of the department of mines. The examining board is hereby authorized to engage the services of a clerk, who shall be a stenographer. Any vacancy that may occur in the membership of the examining board shall be filled by the governor according to the provisions of this section.

SEC. 2. The said examining board shall meet on the first Tuesday in March following its appointment, in the city of Pittsburgh, to examine applicants for the office of inspector. Two weeks previous to the aforesaid time the board shall meet to prepare questions and formulate rules for conducting the examination. The board may also be convened by the governor at any other time for the purpose of filling vacancies or performing any other necessary work.

The board after being duly organized shall take and subscribe to, before any officer authorized to administer the same the following oath, namely:

"We, the undersigned, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that we will perform the duties of examiners of applicants for appointment as inspector of mines to the best of our ability, and that in recommending or rejecting said applicants we will be governed by the evidence of their qualifications to fill the position and not by any consideration of political or personal favor, and that we will certify all whom we may find qualified according to the true intent and meaning of this act and none other."

The oaths of the members of the examining board shall be filed in the department of mines.

SEC. 3. The qualifications of candidates for the office of inspector shall be certified to the examining board and shall be as follows:

The candidates shall be citizens of Pennsylvania, of temperate habits, of good repute as men of personal integrity, in good physical condition, and shall be between the ages of thirty and fifty years: Provided, however, That any inspector appointed under the provisions of the act of May 15, 1893, or under the provisions of this act shall be eligible for reappointment, even if beyond fifty years of age, if in good physical condition. The candidates shall have a knowledge of the different systems of working coal seams and shall have had at least ten years' practical experience in bituminous mines, five years of which, immediately preceding their examination, shall have been in bituminous mines of this Commonwealth, and shall also have had practical experience with explosive gas and other dangerous gases found in coal mines; and, upon examination, shall give evidence of such theoretical as well as practical knowledge and general intelligence respecting mines and mining, and the working and ventilation of mines, as will satisfy the examining board of their capability and fitness for the duties imposed upon inspectors of mines by the provisions of this act.

SEC. 4. The principal examination shall be in writing, and each applicant shall also undergo an oral examination pertaining to explosive gas, safety lamps, methods of ventilation, and mine management. The questions and answers thereto in the oral examination shall be reported verbatim by an expert stenographer, and typewritten fully, to assist the board in the work of rating the qualifications of the candidate. Candidates who shall make a general average of at least ninety per centum shall be deemed successful. The manuscripts and other papers of all applicants in the principal examination, together with the tally sheets and the correct solution of each question as prepared by the examining board, and also the stenographer's report of the oral examination shall be filed in the department of mines. The examining board, or at least four members thereof, shall certify to the governor and also to the department of mines, the names and percentages of all successful candidates who are properly qualified, under the provisions of this article, to fill the office of inspector. A certificate of qualification prepared by the chief of the department of mines shall be issued to each successful candidate.

The examining board shall, as soon as practicable after the examination, furnish to each applicant on printed slips of paper a copy of all questions (oral and written) given at the examination, marked "solved right," "imperfect," or wrong," as the case may be. (Amended. See following act.)

66

ARTICLE XXIV.

BOARDS TO EXAMINE APPLICANTS FOR CERTIFICATES.

SEC. 1. On petition of the mine inspector, the court of common pleas in any county in said district shall appoint an examining board of three persons, con

sisting of a mine inspector, a miner, and an operator or superintendent—which said miner shall have had at least ten years' practical experience and be in actual practice in mines of this Commonwealth generating explosive gasesand the members of said examining board shall be citizens of this Commonwealth, and the persons so appointed shall, after being duly organized, take and subscribe, before an officer authorized to administer the same, the following oath, namely:

“We, the undersigned, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that we will perform the duties of examiners of applicants for certificates of qualification as mine foremen, assistant mine foremen, and fire bosses; that we will not divulge or make known to any person any question prepared for the examiners, or in any manner assist any applicant to pass the examination, but will be governed by the evidence of the qualifications of the applicants to fill said positions, and not by any consideration of personal favor; and that we will certify all whom we may find qualified in accordance with this act, and none other."

Any member of any board of examiners who shall divulge or make known any question prepared for an examination, prior to such question being handed to the applicants at the examination, or in any manner assist any applicant to pass the examination, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Any vacancy that may occur in the membership of the board shall be filled by the court of common pleas, in accordance with the provisions of this section.

The said board of examiners shall meet, for the purpose of holding examinations, at the call of the mine inspector, and at least two weeks' notice of time and place where the examination will be held shall be given.

SEC. 2. The members of the boards of examiners appointed by the courts of common pleas, with the inspectors in office, shall meet in the City of Pittsburgh each year, two weeks before the time set for the examination of applicants, for the purpose of discussing the general scope of the theoretical and practical questions to be given the applicants, and to adopt rules to govern the examinations, and to decide any other important matters pertaining to their duties; and said boards shall select a committee of six of their number, comprising two inspectors, two miners, and two operators, managers, or superintendents, to formulate a code of questions to be used at the next succeeding examinations. The said committee shall select one of their members as chairman and one as secretary. The questions prepared by the said committee shall be printed under the personal direction of the chairman and the secretary of the committee, and sent by them by express, in sealed packages, each package containing a set of questions for each session, to the chairman of each board of examiners, who shall break the seal and open the package at the commencement of each session in the presence of the other members of the board.

After the examinations of applicants are over, and before the several boards meet to examine the papers of the applicants, the said committee of six shall meet again to prepare answers for the questions propounded, and these answers shall be sent to the chairman of each board, to be used in rating the value of the answers given by the applicants. While preparing answers to the questions the committee is hereby authorized to engage the services of a clerk, who shall be a stenographer, and whose compensation and mileage shall be the same as that of the members of the committee.

SEC. 3. Each member of each board shall receive six dollars a day for each day actually employed, not exceeding twenty days in all, and mileage at the rate of two and one-half cents a mile for each mile necessarily traveled in going from his home to the place of meeting and return, by the shortest practicable railway route: Provided, That the mileage shall be paid but once for each continuous

session of the board. By a continuous session is meant a session of not less than four days in each week: Provided further, That the committee of six shall each receive additional compensation at the rate of six dollars a day for the time spent in preparing the questions and answers. Each member shall also be reimbursed for all other necessary expenses incurred by him in discharge of his duties. Each board of examiners is hereby authorized to employ the services of a clerk, who shall be a stenographer, and whose compensation and rate of mileage shall be the same as that of the members of the board. The clerk of each board shall, on final adjournment, send to the chief of the department of mines properly attested vouchers for compensation and expenses of each member of the board, and also a voucher covering his own compensation and expenses, which vouchers shall be first approved by the chairman and the secretary of the board. The chief of the department of mines shall then approve said vouchers and transmit them to the auditor general, who shall issue a warrant, for their payment, to the State treasurer.

SEC. 4. Applicants must appear before the board of examiners of which the inspector of the inspection district in which they reside is a member. All persons who desire to attend the examination shall notify the chairman of the board of their intention, if possible, not less than six days prior to the day set for the examination. The boards shall inquire into the character and qualifications of applicants who present themselves for examination.

Applicants for certificates of qualification as mine foremen and assistant mine foremen shall be citizens of the United States of good moral character and of known temperate habits, at least twenty-three years of age, and shall have had at least five years' practical experience, after sixteen years of age, as miners or mining engineers, or men of general work inside of the mines of Pennsylvania. Applicants for certificates of qualification as fire bosses shall be citizens of the United States, of good moral character and of known temperate habits, at least twenty-three years of age, and shall have had at least five years' practical experience, after sixteen years of age, as miners or men of general work, and shall have had experience in mines in Pennsylvania that generate explosive gas.

All applicants shall be able to read and write the English language intelligently, and shall furnish the board with certificates as to their character and temperate habits, which certificates shall also show the length of service in the different mines.

Certificates of qualification as mine foremen shall be of two grades, namely: Certificates of first grade shall be granted to persons who have given to the board of examiners satisfactory evidence of their ability to perform the duties of mine foremen in gaseous mines, and who shall have received an average of at least eighty per centum in the examination. Certificates of second grade shall be granted to persons who have given to the board of examiners satisfactory evidence of their ability to perform the duties of mine foremen in nongaseous mines, and who shall have received an average of at least eighty per centum in the examination.

Certificates of qualification as assistant mine foremen shall be granted to persons who have given to the board of examiners satisfactory evidence of their ability to perform the duties of assistant mine foremen in gaseous mines, and who shall have received an average of at least seventy per centum in the examination.

All applicants for certificates as mine foremen and assistant mine foremen in gaseous mines must also undergo an oral examination in the presence of explosive gas.