than two hose connections at the bottom of the hoisting shaft, and two hose connections at the bottom of the air and escapement shaft designated as such under the law, and two hose connections in each stable which is located less than five hundred (500) feet from the bottom of either of said shafts; and there shall be iron or steel pipes not less than two inches in diameter in the entries and passageways leading from the bottom of each of said shafts to such extent and such position that with one (1) fifty-foot length of hose the water may be carried into all such entries and passageways within three hundred (300) feet from the bottom of each of said shafts and into the corresponding area in slope and drift mines, such area to be designated in this Act as the fire protected area; (e) Provided, that in mines having one hundred and twenty-five (125) feet or less head at the bottom of the incoming supply pipe, the incoming pipes and the pipes having hose connections shall be not less than three (3) inches in diameter. The pipes in the mine shall have hose connections not more than fifty (50) feet apart beginning at the bottom of the incoming supply pipe or pipes. (d) There shall be kept constantly on hand at the bottom of each shaft where hose connections are required, in condition for immediate use, not less than two (2) fifty (50) foot lengths of one and one-half (1) inch inside diameter linen hose or rubber-lined cotton hose, which shall have been tested to a pressure of two hundred (200) pounds to the square inch; all of such hose and connections therefor on the supply pipes shall have American standard iron pipe threads. The nozzles on such hose shall be not less than threeeighths () nor more than five-eighths () inch in diameter. (e) Where any part of any passage or other excavation within one hundred and fifty (150) feet of the bottom of the hoisting shaft or the air and escapement shaft designated as such under the law and in the corresponding area in slope or drift mines, is timbered, with cribbing or more than one layer of lagging not including caps or wedges, above the cross bars, there shall be two lines of automatic sprinklers on the under side of such timbering, attached to not less than one and one-half (1) inch pipes connected with the fire fighting water supply, and such sprinklers shall not be more than ten (10) feet apart. (f) In cribbing or lagging as last aforesaid, which is more than three (3) feet in vertical thickness, there shall be also, as near the top thereof as is practicable, automatic sprinklers connected with the water supply as last aforesaid and there shall be one such sprinkler for each eight (8) feet square or horizontal area of such cribbing or lagging. (g) In every underground stable, located within one thousand (1,000) feet of the hoisting shaft or the air and escapement shaft designated as such under the law, there shall not be less than one (1) automatic water sprinkler for each area eight (8) feet square in said stable; such automatic sprinklers shall be connected with iron or steel pipes not less than one and one-half (1) inches in diameter along the roof or ceiling in the stable, which shall be connected with the fire fighting water supply. (h) All automatic sprinklers shall be of the fusible plug type and shall not require a temperature of more than one hundred and sixty-five (165) degrees Fahrenheit to release the water. (i) In all underground stables other than those heretofore in this Act referred to, there shall be kept barrels full of water and two metal pails with each barrel. Such barrels shall be not more than fifty (50) feet apart, and there shall not be less than two (2) barrels full of water and two (2) metal pails with each barrel in each entry or passageway into which such stable opens and not more than fifty (50) feet from the opening of the stable. (j) There shall also be one (1) not less than two and one-half (21) gallons chemical fire extinguishers and two (2) not less than six (6) gallon hand-pump buckets in each stable and in each entry or passageway into which such stable opens not more than fifty (50) feet from the opening of such stable: Provided, that in mines employing ten (10) men or less underground, the chemical fire extinguishers shall not be required. Such chemical fire extinguishers and hand-pump buckets shall be kept filled and ready for use. (k) Provided, however, that in coal mines in which less than ten (10) men are employed, in which there are no stables, in lieu of said water supply with pipes and hose, there may be substituted the following: There shall be kept within the fire protected area in each such mine, barrels full of water not more than fifty (50) feet apart, and with each barrel there shall be two metal buckets; and there shall also be kept within said area not less than six (6) hand-pump buckets of not less than six (6) gallons capacity, and said buckets shall be kept filled and ready for use. (1) A barrel within the meaning of this Act shall be any substantial vessel holding not less than fifty (50) gallons. (m) All mines shall have at least one, not less than two and one-half (24) gallon chemical fire extinguisher, and one not less than six (6) gallon handpump bucket, including those hereinbefore in this Act required, for each fifty (50) employees in the mine with a minimum of six (6) extinguishers and six (6) pump buckets, kept at convenient places designated by the mine manager throughout the mine, and three (3) fire extinguishers of two and one-half (24) gallons each in each building located within one hundred (100) feet of any shaft, drift or slope, and such extinguishers shall be recharged once every six months and a record made of the date of recharging in the mine examiner's report book: Provided, this does not apply to buildings constructed of fire proof material. Such extinguishers and buckets shall be kept filled and ready for use: Provided, that in mines employing ten (10) men or less tinderground, the chemical fire extinguishers shall not be required. SEC. 6. The following requirements also shall apply to all coal mines developed within the State of Illinois after the passage of this Act: "Provided that paragraphs (a) and (b) shall not apply to mines where ten (10) men or less are employed." (a) The hoisting shaft and the air and escapement shaft designated as such under the law in shaft mines and the air and escapement shaft nearest the main opening in slope or drift mines, shall be of fire proof construction, except that cage guides may be wood. All drifts and slopes that are opened after the passage of this Act must be of fire proof construction for a distance of three hundred (300) feet from the entrance: Provided, that this section shall not apply to shafts in actual course of construction at the time this Act takes effect. (b) The roof and walls of the passageways leading from the bottom of the hoisting shaft and the air and escapement shaft designated as such under the law, within a distance of three hundred (300) feet from the bottom of either of said shafts, shall be of fire proof construction, except that the coal rib or pillar may be used as a wall in such passageways. (c) All underground stables and the openings therein shall be of fire proof construction. Stables in mines opened after the passage of this Act shall not be located between the main and escapement shaft, or in direct line on the ventilating current or on passageways leading to the escapement shaft or shafts. (d) At mines constructed in conformity with the requirements of this section of this Act, the fire fighting equipment described in section 2, and the fire drill described in section 5 of this Act shall not be required, except that there shall be kept at convenient places designated by the mine manager, throughout each mine, one not less than two and one-half (2}) gallons chemical fire extinguisher and one not less than six (6) gallon hand-pump bucket, for each fifty (50) employees in the mines with a minimum of six (6) extinguishers and six (6) pump buckets, and such extinguishers and buckets shall be kept filled and ready for use: Provided, that in mines employing ten (10) men or less underground, the chemical fire extinguishers shall not be required. MINE INSPECTORS. INSPECTORS TO FURNISH INFORMATION TO GEOLOGISTS. JUNE 18, 1891. LAWS 1891, P. 167. AN ACT to require inspectors of mines to furnish information to the State Geologist, and to provide for paying the expenses of the same. SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc.: That in addition to the duties now prescribed by law, it shall hereafter be the duty of the State inspectors of coal mines to procure for, and under the direction of, the State Geologist, a true record of the various strata through which coal shafts are sunk, or borings for coal, oil, gas or artesian water are made in their respective districts; also to determine the altitude of the top of said shafts or bore holes, above some specified point on the nearest railroad, or other point whose elevation may be readily ascertained; and also to determine the dip of the coal stratum in all mines which are being operated. The additional duties herein prescribed for said inspector shall be discharged at such times and in such manner as not to interfere with their primary duties as inspectors of mines, and they shall report the results of their observations, from time to time, to the State Geologist. SEC. 2. The actual and necessary traveling expenses of said inspectors, in the discharge of their public duties, shall be allowed and paid from the same fund and in the same manner as that in which compensation for their services is now paid, and upon itemized quarterly accounts, verified by affidavit, and approved by the secretary of the Commissioners of Labor Statistics and the Governor. DUTY AS TO WEIGHING COAL. LAWS 1895, P. 255. (SEE PAGE 393.) JUNE 4, 1895. AN ACT to make mine inspectors, inspectors of weights and measures at coal mines. SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc.: That mine inspectors in this State shall be ex officio inspectors of weights and measures of scales used to weigh coal in their respective districts in this State, and they are hereby empowered to, and it shall be their duty to test the scales in such district used to weigh coal mined in coal mines or sold, at least once every six months, to ascertain whether such scales correctly measure the weight of such coal, and if they find any defects or irregularities in such scales which prevent correct measurements of weights, they shall call attention of the mine owner, agent or operator to the same, and direct the same to be at once properly adjusted and corrected. SEC. 2. If the owner, agent or operator of any coal mine shall refuse to allow such inspectors to properly test the scales used at such mines, or shall fail or refuse to put such scales into proper condition to correctly weigh coal, upon being notified so to do by the inspector of his district, such owner, agent or operator shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not exceeding five hundred (500) dollars, or confined in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both, in the discretion of the court. And it shall be the duty of the State's Attorneys in their respective counties to prosecute any person violating the provisions of this act, the same as in other cases of misdemeanor. REVISIONS AND AMENDMENTS. NOTE. For parts of section 12 of the Act of April 18, 1899; of section 5 of the Act of June 6, 1911; of section 5 of the Amendatory Act of June 27, 1913; and of section 5 of the Amendatory Act of June 28, 1915, relating to State inspectors as sealers of weights and measures, see pages 76, 83, 89, 192. LAWS 1899, P. 301. REVISION OF 1899. APRIL 18, 1899. AN ACT to revise the laws in relation to coal mines and subjects relating thereto, and providing for the health and safety of persons employed therein. Paragraphs (g) and (h) of sec. 12 of this Act are the same as paragraphs (j) and (k) of the Act of 1913 below. NOTE. LAWS 1911, P. 388. REVISION OF 1911. JUNE 6, 1911. AN ACT to revise the laws in relation to coal mines and subjects relating thereto, and providing for the health and safety of persons employed therein. NOTE.-Paragraphs (j) and (k) of sec. 5 of this Act are the same as paragraphs (j) and (k) of the Act of 1913 below. LAWS 1913, P. 412. FIRST AMENDATORY ACT. JUNE 27, 1913. AN ACT to amend sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of an Act entitled "An Act to revise the laws in relation to coal mines and subjects relating thereto, and providing for the health and safety of persons employed therein," approved June 6, 1911, in force July 1, 1911. SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc.: That sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, and 21 of An Act entitled, "An Act to revise the laws in relation to coal mines and subjects relating thereto, and providing for the health and safety of persons employed therein," approved June 6, 1911, in force July 1, 1911, be and the same are hereby amended so as to read as follows: SEALER OF WEIGHTS.-(j) State inspectors are hereby made ex officio sealer of weights and measures in their respective districts, and as such are empow ered to test all scales used to weigh coal at coal mines. Upon the written request of any mine owner or operator, or of ten coal miners employed at any one mine, it shall be the duty of the inspector to test any scale or scales at such mine against which complaint is directed, and if he shall find that they or any of them do not weigh correctly, he shall call the attention of the mine owner or operator to the fact, and direct that said scale or scales be at once overhauled and readjusted so as to indicate only true and exact weights, and he shall forbid the further operation of such mine until such scales are adjusted. In the event that such tests shall conflict with any test made by any county sealer of weights, or under and by virtue of any municipal ordinance or regulation, then the test by such mine inspector shall prevail. TEST WEIGHTS.-(k) For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, each State inspector shall be furnished by the State with a complete set of standard weights suitable for testing the accuracy of tract [track] scales and of all smaller scales at mines, said test weights to be paid for on bills of particulars, certified by the Secretary of State and approved by the Governor. Such test weights shall remain in the custody of the inspector for use at any point within his district, and for any amounts expended by him for the storage, transportation or handling of the same, he shall be fully reimbursed upon making entry of the proper items in his expense voucher. (See page 386.) |