BITUMINOUS MINES.

COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE CONDITIONS.

JOINT RESOLUTION CREATING.

LAWS 1874, P. 291.

MARCH 16, 1874.

JOINT RESOLUTION providing for the appointment by the governor of three commissioners to investigate the condition of the bituminous coal mines in this Commonwealth.

WHEREAS, It is essential to the welfare of all classes that the Commonwealth, by wholesome laws enacted, should guarantee proper safeguards for the preservation of life and limb to those following the various avocations of life:

And whereas, The coal miners engaged in mining coal throughout the bituminous coal regions of this State have, by numerous petitions and otherwise, complained to the legislature thereof, that they are suffering to a great extent, both physically and mentally while following their daily avocation, from an inadequacy of proper ventilation and drainage of mines:

And whereas, Conflicting opinions and interests throughout said bituminous coal regions seem to indicate that existing laws relating to the ventilation of mines throughout certain sections of the Commonwealth are inapplicable to the bituminous regions; Therefore, be it

Resolved, etc., That the governor is hereby authorized to appoint a board of commissioners, to consist of three persons, who have a reputable practical knowledge of mines and mining throughout the bituminous coal regions of the State, whose duty it shall be to carefully and fully investigate the present condition of bituminous coal mines, and ascertain whether the same are properly ventilated and drained, together with such other matters connected therewith as are calculated to preserve the health and secure the safety of persons employed therein; said commissioners to report the result of said investigation to the next legislature.

SEC. 2. That said commissioners shall have full authority to enter, unmolested, any and all coal mines throughout the State, and shall be empowered to make such examinations therein as in their judgment they may deem expedient; and for each day thus employed said commissioners shall be paid the sum of five dollars per day, together with all necessary expenses incurred while in the discharge of their duties, a record of which shall be kept by said commissioners, which shall be sworn to when the same shall be paid by the State treasurer out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, after approval by the proper accounting officer of the State: Provided, That the time occupied by said commissioners in said investigation shall not exceed one hundred days.

GENERAL MINING LAW.

LAWS 1877, P. 56.

APRIL 18, 1877.

AN ACT providing the means for securing the health and safety of persons employed in the bituminous coal mines of Pennsylvania.

NOTE.-Section 1 of this act is under the title Maps. (See p. 192.)

SEC. 2. It shall not be lawful, after six months from the passage of this act, for the owner or agent of any bituminous coal mine to employ any person at work within said coal mine, or permit any person to be in said coal mine for the purpose of working therein, unless they are in communication with at least two openings separated by natural strata of not less than one hundred and fifty feet in breadth, if the mine be worked by shaft or slope, and of not less than twenty-four feet if the mine be worked by drift: Provided, If the mine be worked by drift two openings, inclusive of air shaft, shall only be required, if the air shaft can be used for ingress and egress in case of emergency; and that not more than twenty persons shall be employed in the mine

at any one time after the expiration of the six months until the second opening shall be reached and made available; and in case of furnace ventilation being used before the second opening is reached, the furnace shall not be placed within forty feet of the foot of the shaft, and shall be well secured from danger from fire by brick or stone walls of sufficient thickness and the mine while being driven for making and perfecting a second opening; the owner or agent shall provide and maintain a metal tube from the top to the bottom of the slope or shaft, suitably adapted to the free passage of sound, through which conversation may be held between persons at the bottom and at the top of the shaft or slope, also, the ordinary means of signaling to and from the top and bottom of the shaft or slope, and an approved safety catch and sufficient cover over head on every carriage used for lowering and hoisting persons; and the said owner or agent shall see that sufficient flanges or horns are attached to the sides of the drum of every machine that is used for lowering and hoisting persons in and out of the mine, and also that adequate brakes are attached thereto; the main link attached to the swivel of the wire rope shall be made of the best quality of iron, and shall be tested by weights or otherwise satisfactory to the inspector of mines of the district, and bridle chains shall be attached to the main link from the cross pieces of the carriage, and no single link chain shall be used for lowering or raising persons into or out of said mine, and not more than six persons shall be lowered or hoisted by the machinery at any one time; and only sober, competent, and experienced engineers shall be employed.

SEC. 3. When a second opening is made, one opening shall be set apart exclusively for purposes of ingress and egress, and shall not be clogged or obstructed with machinery, pumps, or currents of heated air or steam; if the opening is a shaft it shall be fitted with safe and convenient stairs, at an angle of not more than sixty degrees descent, and with landings at easy and convenient distances; all water coming from the surface or out of the strata in the shaft, shall be conducted by rings or otherwise to be prevented from falling down the shaft so as to wet persons who are ascending and descending the stairway of the shaft; if the opening in a slope, it shall be provided with safe and available traveling ways.

SEC. 4. The owner or agent of every bituminous coal mine, whether shaft, slope or drift, shall, within six months after the passage of this act, provide, and thereafter maintain, for every such mine, ample means of ventilation, affording one hundred cubic feet per minute, for each and every person employed in said mine, which shall be circulated around the main headings and cross heading to an extent that will dilute, carry off and render harmless the noxious gases generated therein; and all mines generating fire-damp shall be kept free of standing gas, and every working place shall be carefully examined every morning with a safety lamp by a competent person before any workmen are allowed to enter.

NOTE.-Section 5 of this act is under the title, Mine Foremen-Employment and Duties. See page 215.

SEC. 6. Any miners, workmen or other person, who shall intentionally injure any shaft, lamp, instrument, air-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 do any other act whereby the lives or the health of persons, or the security of the mines or the machin

ery is endangered, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be punished in the manner provided in the sixteenth section of this act; all machinery about mines shall be properly fenced off, and the top of each shaft and the entrance of every abandoned slope and air or other shaft shall be securely fenced off; and there shall be cut in the side of every hoisting shaft, at the 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.

SEC. 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 can not 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; hereupon the said court shall appoint three disinterested and competent citizens of the county to view the grounds 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 land for the privilege of making said openings, which damages shall be fully paid before such opening is made; it shall be the duty of said viewers to give notice by at least three written or printed handbills, posted on the premises 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 parties, their agents and attorneys, where it can be done, and shall, within thirty days after their appointment, make report of their proceedings to said court, stating the amount of damages awarded, accompanied by a map or plan of said openings; and if no appeal be taken to said court within ten days after notice to the opposite party in interest of the filing thereof, it shall be marked confirmed by the clerk, and the petitioner or petitioners may proceed to make said opening or openings; the pay of the viewers and other costs shall be the same as in road cases, and shall be paid by the petitioner or petitioners.

NOTE.-Sec. 8 of this act is under the title Miners' Examining Boards. See page 270. Secs. 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, and 17 are under the title. Inspectors and Inspection. See p. 135. SEC. 11. For any injury to person or property occasioned by any violation of this act, or any wilful failure to comply with its provisions by any owner, lessee or operator of any coal mine or opening, a right of action against the party at fault shall accrue to the party injured for the direct damage sustained thereby; and in any case of loss of life by reason of such violation or wilful failure, a right of action against the party at fault shall accrue to the widow and lineal heirs of the person whose life shall be lost, for like recovery of damages for the injury they shall have sustained.

SEC. 14. Whenever, by reason of any explosion or other accident in any bituminous coal mine or the machinery connected therewith, loss of life or serious personal injury shall occur, it shall be the duty of the person having charge of such mine or colliery to give notice thereof forthwith to the inspector of the district, and if any person is killed thereby to the coroner of the county, who shall give due notice of the inquest to be held; it shall be the duty of the inspector upon being notified as herein provided, to immediately repair to the scene of the accident and make such suggestions as may appear necessary to secure the future safety of the men; and if the results of the explosion do not require an investigation by the coroner he shall proceed to investigate and ascertain the cause of the explosion or accident, and make a record thereof, which he shall file as provided for; and to enable him to make the investigation, he shall have power to compel the attendance of persons to testify, and to administer oaths or affirmations; the cost of such investigation shall be paid by the county in which the accident occurred, in the same manner as costs of inquests held by the coroners or justices of the peace are paid.

SEC. 16. The neglect or refusal to perform the duties required to be performed by any section of this act by the parties therein required to perform them, or the violation of any of the provisions or requirements hereof, shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be punished by fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor not exceeding five hundred dollars, at the discretion of the court; and all penalties recovered under this act shall be paid into the treasury of the state.

SEC. 18. The provisions of this act shall not apply to any mine where ten inen or a less number are employed, or to any mine which does not generate fire-damp, black-damp, or other dangerous or noxious gases. (Last clause repealed. See following act.)

SEC. 19. All laws or parts of laws inconsistent with any of the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

REPEALING PART OF SECTION 18.

LAWS 1878, P. 153. MAY 25, 1878. AN ACT to amend an act, entitled "An act to provide the means for securing the health and safety of persons employed in the bituminous coal mines of Pennsylvania. SEC. 1. Be it enacted, etc. :

That the last clause of the 18th section of the act of general assembly, entitled "An act to provide the means for securing the health and safety of persons employed in the bituminous coal mines of Pennsylvania," approved the 18th day of April, A. D. 1877, after the word "employed," in the second line of said section, which is, as follows: "Or to any mine which does not generate fire-damp, blackdamp, or other dangerous or noxious gases," is hereby repealed.

ANNOTATIONS.

SAFETY OF MINERS.

1. PURPOSE OF ACT-VENTILATION.

2. CLASSIFICATION OF MINES-RIGHT TO CONTRACT-LEGISLATIVE POWER.

1. PURPOSE OF ACT-VENTILATION,

The purpose of the act of April 18, 1877 (P. L. 58), as shown by its title, is to protect the health and safety of the persons employed in the bituminous mines 125672°-20- -44

and is a wise and just measure.

The greatest danger of mining operations is an accumulation of foul air and gases and it was to avoid this and to secure proper ventilation that section 5 requires the mine operator to employ a competent and practical mining boss.

Redstone Coke Co. v. Roby, 115 Pa. St. 364, p. 368.

2. CLASSIFICATION OF MINES-RIGHT TO CONTRACT-LEGISLATIVE POWER.

The constitution expressly prohibits the General Assembly from passing any local or special law regulating labor, trade, mining, or manufacturing, but regulations adapted to the mining of bituminous coal might be unreasonable if applied to the mining of anthracite coal. The legislature has power to recognize fixed physical conditions and special requirements in legislation concerning each of these classes; but legislation which denies to one class of citizens the free right to contract enjoyed by all other citizens is special unless there be such differences as in the nature of things furnished a reasonable basis for separate laws and regulations.

Commonwealth v. Brown, 8 Pa. Supr. Ct. Rep. 339, p. 351.
See Commonwealth v. Jones, 4 Pa. Supr. Ct. Rep. 362.
Durkin v. Kingston Coal Co., 171 Pa. St. 193.

COMMISSION TO REVISE MINING LAW.

LAWS 1885, P. 6.

MARCH 31, 1885. AN ACT providing for the appointment of a commission to revise the mining and ventilation laws in the bituminous coal regions of the Commonwealth, and for an appropriation to pay the expenses thereof.

SEC. 1. Be it enacted, etc.:

That the governor be authorized to appoint six competent and experienced miners, and six competent and experienced coal operators, one miner and one operator from each bituminous inspection district, five members of the House of Representatives, and three members of the Senate, who shall, with the six mine inspectors of the bituminous region, act as commissioners to revise the mine laws and ventilation acts, relating to the bituminous coal regions of Pennsylvania, and to report to the legislature at its present session, if possible (and if not at the next session thereof). The commission shall be called together for organization by the inspector of the first bituminous district, within twenty days from the passage of this act, at such place as he may designate, and a majority of the members of the said commission present at any meeting, shall be deemed sufficient to make such changes in said laws as will tend to the greater security of persons employed in working in and about such mines, and secure a more prompt and strict compliance with such laws. And the said six miners and six coal operators to be allowed five dollars per day and expenses, for each day actually employed in the work of said commission, not to exceed thirty days. And the inspectors shall have their expenses paid for each day actually employed in the work of the commission. And the sum of four thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to pay the same, be and is hereby appropriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be paid by warrant drawn by the auditor general, on an itemized statement furnished to him by the chairman of said committee. And the commission shall have power to employ a competent stenographer whose services shall be paid out of the money hereby appropriated, and in the manner provided by this act.