shall have the right to appear before the examining board after the expiration of three months, and be reëxamined, if he shall first satisfy the board that the incapacity complained of shall have ceased to exist. [Laws 1917, ch. 237, § 7; March 29.] § 325. Fees paid to state treasurer and credited to coal mine examiners' fund. All fees collected by said board of examiners shall be paid to the state treasurer and credited to a fund to be known as the coal mine examiners' fund. [Laws 1917, ch. 237, § 8; March 29.] § 326. Holder of first-grade mine foreman's certificate may serve as foreman, fire boss, shot-firer, or shot-inspector; positions which may be held by holder of second-grade certificate; employment of persons not holding certificates, in emergency; consent of examining board. Any one holding a first-grade mine foreman's certificate may serve as foreman in any mine, and may serve as fire boss, shot-firer or shot-inspector; and any one holding a second-grade mine foreman's certificate may serve as any of the above, except as fire boss and foreman of mines which generate explosive or noxious gases; and in case of emergency any mine owner, with the consent of the examining board, may employ any trustworthy or experienced man who shall not hold a certificate for a period of not more than thirty days as mine foreman, assistant mine foreman, fire boss, shot-firer or shot-inspector. [Laws 1917, ch. 237, § 9; March 29.] § 327. Penalty for violation of act by any owner, operator, lessee or agent of any coal mine in the state. Any owner, operator, lessee, or agent of any coal mine in the state of Kansas violating any of the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars or be imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding one year or both. [Laws 1917, ch. 237, § 10; March 29.] § 328. Act to apply only to coal mines. The provisions of this act shall apply only to coal mines. [Laws 1917, ch. 237, § 11; March 29.] ARTICLE 7.-Fraudulent Use of Check Numbers. $329. Unlawful to change, exchange, sub stitute, alter or remove number or check number on any such car for such purpose. $330. Penalty for violation of preceding section. LAWS OF 1905, CH. 214. AN ACT to prohibit the fraudulent use of miners' check numbers in and about mines, and to provide a penalty and punishment therefor. § 329. Unlawful to change, exchange, substitute, alter or remove number or check number on car or pit car with intent to cheat or defraud; unlawful to place number or check number on any such car for such purpose. That it shall be unlawful for any person to change, exchange, substitute, alter or remove any number or check number placed upon any car or pit car in or about any mine in the state of Kansas, with the intent to cheat or defraud any other person out of the value of his services in mining and loading the coal or mineral contained in such car or pit car; and it shall be unlawful for any person, with the intent to cheat or defraud another, to place any number or check number upon any car or pit car loaded by any other person in or about any mine. [G. S. 1915, § 6355.] § 330. Penalty for violation of preceding section. Every person who shall violate any of the provisions of section 1 of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum of not more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. [G. S. 1915, § 6356.] "Section 1 of this act," mentioned herein, is § 329, supra. ARTICLE 8.-General Act for Health and Safety of Miners. $331. Owner, agent or operator to make map. 332. Openings in coal mines; construction of such openings; number of persons permitted to work in such mine until such openings constructed; furnace ventilation; speaking tubes and means of signaling; regulations concerning lowering and hoisting persons and machinery therefor; construction of escapement shaft; number of men employed in mine seven hundred feet deep or more designated by state mine inspector. 333. Steam boilers to be provided with steam gauge and water gauge and safety valve; inspection of such boilers; report to mine inspector. 334. Owner, agent or operator of coal mine to maintain ample means of ventilation; requirements; inspector may increase amount of air when necessary; inspection of mine every morning; air-ways to be provided. 335. Employment of inside Overseer, called "mining-boss"; duties of mining-boss; travel on underground plane; means of signaling; manholes for places of refuge; prop timber to be supplied; min- §336. Fences about machinery at mines 339. Notice to inspector when loss of life 340. Penalty for neglect or refusal to comply with §§ 331-336, supra; application of penalties recovered. 341. "Owner," "owners," "lessee," "agent," or "operator," as used in this act, defined. 342. Repeal of acts in conflict herewith. LAWS OF 1883, CH. 117, AS AMENDED BY LAWS OF 1885, CH. 143, AND LAWS OF 1889, CH. 174. AN ACT to provide for the health and safety of persons employed in and about the coal mines of Kansas, and providing for the inspection of the same. § 331. Owner, agent or operator to make or cause to be made an accurate map or plan of workings of coal mine; scale of such map; copy of map kept in office of coal mine and copy furnished to inspector; plan of progress of workings to be made annually; abandonment of coal mine to be reported to inspector; inspector to have map made if owner fail to file map or if map furnished is believed to be materially inaccurate; cost of such map. That the owner, agent or operator of every coal mine shall make or cause to be made within six months after the passage of this act an accurate map or plan of the workings of such coal mine, and each and every vein thereof, on a scale not exceeding one hundred feet to the inch, and showing the bearings and distances, which shall be kept in the office of such coal mine; and it shall be the duty of the owner, agent or operator of such coal mine to furnish the state inspector with a true copy of said map or plan, the same to be deposited at his office. And such owner, agent or operator shall cause, on or before the 10th day of July of each year, a plan of the progress of the workings of such coal mine during the year past to be marked on the original map or plan of the said coal mine, and the inspector shall correct his map or plan of said workings in accordance with the above plan or map thus furnished. And when any coal mine is worked out or abandoned the fact shall be reported to the inspector, and the map or plan of such coal mine in his office shall be carefully corrected and verified: Provided, If the owner, agent or operator of any coal mine shall neglect or refuse, or for any cause fail, for the period of two months after the time prescribed, to furnish the said map or plan as hereby required, or if the inspector shall find or have reason to believe that any map or plan of any coal mine furnished in pursuance of this act is materially inaccurate or imperfect, he is hereby authorized to cause a correct map or plan of the actual workings of said coal mine to be made at the expense of the owner, agent or operator thereof, the cost of which shall be recovered from said owner, agent or operator as other debts are recoverable by law: Provided, That if the map or plan which the inspector claimed to be incorrect shall prove to have been correct, then the aforesaid expense shall be paid by the inspector. [G. S. 1915, § 6272.] § 332. Openings in coal mines; construction of such openings; number of persons permitted to work in such mine until such openings constructed; furnace ventilation; speaking tubes and means of signaling; regulations concerning lowering and hoisting persons and machinery therefor; construction of escapement shaft; number of men employed in mine seven hundred feet deep or more designated by state mine inspector. It shall not be lawful, after six months from the passage of this act, for the owner, agent or operator of any 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 eighty feet in breadth if the mine be worked by shaft or slope, and if worked by drift not less than fifty feet: Provided, however, That such coal mine shall not exceed one hundred feet in depth from the surface to the coal; and for every additional one hundred feet or fractional part thereof six months' additional time will be granted; but in all cases the number of men shall be limited not to exceed twenty-five until the second opening is perfected and made available; and a roadway to the same shall be kept open, not less than three feet high and four feet wide, thereby forming a communication as contemplated in this act, but the limit herein prescribed as to the number working in the shaft before the completion of the second opening shall not apply to mines exceeding seven hundred feet in depth. And for a failure to do as provided in this section, the owner, agent or operator shall be subject to the penalty provided for in section sixteen of this act. And in case of furnace ventilation being used before the second opening is reached, the furnace shall not be within forty feet of the foot of the shaft, and shall be secured from danger from fire by brick or stone walls of sufficient thickness; and the flues shall be composed of incombustible material to an extent of not less than thirty feet from the furnace and the mine while being driven for making or perfecting a second opening. In all cases where the human voice cannot be distinctly heard, the owner, agent or operator shall provide and maintain a metal tube from the top to the bottom of the shaft or slope, suitably adapted to the free passage of sound, through which conversation may be held between persons at the bottom and top of such shaft or slope; and there shall also be maintained the ordinary means of signaling to and from the top and bottom of such shaft or slope. In all mines of one hundred feet in depth or over from the surface of the ground an improved safety-catch shall be used, and sufficient horns or flanges shall be attached to the sides of the drum of every machine that is used for lowering or hoisting persons into and out of said mine where steam is used, and adequate brakes shall be 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 other means satisfactory to the inspector of mines of the state; and bridle-chains shall be attached to the main link from the cross-pieces of the cage, 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, and said engineer shall have attained at least the age of eighteen years; and on no account shall any coal be hoisted, or timber or any other material sent up or down, or empty cars, while persons are descending into or ascending out of said mine. In all coal mines hereafter opened or that shall hereafter go into operation in the state, the owner thereof, or owners, lessee, agent or operator, shall construct such escapement-shaft as is now required by law in this state, at the rate of fifty feet every six months until such escapement-shaft shall have been fully completed; and until such escapement-shaft is fully completed and connected with the main shaft, it shall be unlawful to work over twenty-five men in said mine: Provided further, That the number of men to be employed in any mine seven hundred feet deep or more prior to the time when a second or air shaft is sunk, shall be designated by the state mine inspector after a careful examination of all the conditions as to the safety and health of the men in the mines. [G. S. 1915, § 6273.] § 333. Steam boilers to be provided with steam gauge and water gauge and safety valve; inspection of such boilers; report to mine inspector. Every steam boiler used in or around the coal mines of this state shall be provided with a proper steam gauge and water gauge, to show respectively the pressure of steam and the height of water in the boiler, and to be also provided with a proper safety-valve; and the owner, agent or operator shall have the said boiler or boilers examined and inspected by a competent boiler-maker or other qualified person once in every six months, and the result of every examination shall be certified in writing, and conveyed to the mine inspector to be filed in the records of his office. [G. S. 1915, § 6274.] § 334. Owner, agent or operator of coal mine to maintain ample means of ventilation; requirements; inspector may increase amount of air when necessary; inspection of mine every morning; air-ways to be provided. The owner, agent or operator of every 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 100 cubic feet of air per minute per person in all mines where the coal strata are three feet thick or over, and a proportionate amount for thinner strata, which shall be circulated wherever any person or persons may be working in said mine. The inspector may increase the amount when necessary, to such an extent as 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 workingplace shall be carefully examined every morning with a safety-lamp by a competent person, before any workman is allowed to enter therein; and it shall be the duty of the owner, agent or operator of every coal mine to provide and maintain air-ways of sufficient dimension to supply the requisite amount of air. [G. S. 1915, §6275.] Section applicable to all mines generating gas in appreciable quantities. Cheek v. Railway Co., 89 K. 247; Ward v. Fuel Co., 94 K. 626. § 335. Employment of inside overseer, called "mining-boss"; duties of mining-boss; travel on underground plane; means of signaling; manholes for places of refuge; prop timber to be supplied; mining-boss to measure air current and report to inspector; safety-lamps to be furnished by owner; doors in mines generating explosive gases; boreholes, distance to be kept in advance; boreholes on sides in certain cases. 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, agent or operator shall employ a competent and practical inside overseer, to be called "mining-boss," who shall keep a careful watch over the ventilating apparatus, the air-ways, traveling-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 in upon the traveling-ways. And every underground plane on which persons travel, worked by self-acting pulleys, engines, windlasses or machinery of whatever description, shall be provided with proper means of signaling between the stopping-places and the ends of the plane; and shall furthermore be provided in every case, at intervals of not more than thirty feet, with sufficient manholes for places of refuge. And every road on which persons travel underground where the coal is drawn by mules or other animals, shall be provided at intervals of not more than sixty feet with sufficient manholes for places of refuge. And every mine shall be supplied with sufficient prop timber of suitable length and size for the places where it is to be used, and kept in easy access to. And it shall also be the duty of the mining boss to measure the air current at least once per week at the inlet and outlet, and at the face of the workings, and keep a record of such measurements, and report the same to the inspector of the state once in every month. The safety-lamps used for examining the mines, or which may be used for 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 generating explosive gases the doors used in assisting or 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 they cannot be left standing open; and boreholes shall be kept not less than twelve feet in advance of the face of every working-place, and when necessary, on the sides, if the same is driven toward and in dangerous proximity to an abandoned mine suspected of containing inflammable gases, or which is inundated with water. [G. S. 1915, § 6276.] Overseer must see that rock overhead is carefully secured. Barrett v. Dessy, 78 K. 642; Judicial notice that abandoned mines generate gas. Cheek v. Railway Co., 89 K. 247. |