1. Is the mine sufficiently ventilated to meet the requirements of the law? Yes.

2. Is the air current locked where required by law? Yes.

3. Did you find any places driven in advance of the air current? No.

4. Are bleeders provided for abandoned or worked out areas? Yes.

5. Did you detect explosive gas in any portion of the mine? No.

6. Has explosive gas been found or reported at any time during the 2 years preceding this inspection? Yes.

7. Did you detect gas, other than explosive gas, in any portion of the mine? No.

8. Is it a dry and dusty mine? Yes.

9. What methods are used to render the coal dust inert? Rock dust and water.

10. Are the roadways kept free of accumulations of coal dust? Yes.

11. Did you order any portions of the mine rock dusted? No.

12. Are permissible explosives used? Yes.

13. Are certified shot firers employed? Yes.

14. Are certified machine runners employed? Yes.

15. Is the mine worked exclusively with approved safety and electric lamps? Yes.

16. Are the means of ingress and egress kept according to law? Yes. 17. Is the hoisting machinery in good condition? Yes.

18. Are the hoisting ropes in good condition? Yes.

19. Are the safety appliances tested and reported as required by law? Yes. 20. Are the electric equipments installed and kept accordance with law? Yes. 21. Is clearance along haulage roads and conveyors provided and kept in legal condition? Yes.

22. Are shelter holes provided and kept in legal condition? Yes.

23. Do the mine officials make and sign their reports as required by law? Yes.

24. Did you see the mine foreman during this inspection? Yes.

25. Is a system of posting and timbering adopted and used at this mine? Yes. 26. Is the plan of posting and timbering posted at the mine? Yes.

27. Are rules adopted and used governing the handling of cars, locomotives, and hoists? Yes.

28. Did you find any condition during this inspection requiring such action as provided for in article 19, section 13, of the mining law? No.

29. If so, what action did you take?

30. Was satisfactory attention given to the requirement and/or recommendations made on your last inspection? Yes.

31. Are explosives and detonators transported, handled, and stored as required by law? Yes.

32. Did you consider the mine in safe and healthy condition when inspected? Yes.

33. Name of insurance carrier: Self-insured.

CONDITION OF MINE

Ventilation: The amount of ventilation in this mine is sufficient for the health and safety of the persons employed. The air currents were all properly directed to the working faces in all sections with the following exceptions: The air was not up to standard in 2 butt left, 2 flat left off 2 main apparently due to a fall and other constricted places. This situation was remedied as soon as possible. A standard amount of air was not being carried back of line brattices in 3 butt left, 4 flat right off 2 main. A brisk movement of air must be carried behind all line brattices. The air currents were all properly locked and were being moved ahead when necessary.

Timbering: The timbering of permanent haulage ways is excellent with supporting legs being recessed or eliminated entirely thereby reducing the possibility of having timbers knocked out by derailments. Secondary haulage ways are timbered where necessary.

The posting and timbering of working places was very good with posts, timbers, and cribs being used to support the roof. Some natural bad roof conditions exist in the mine but every effort is being made to keep the roof secure. More stress should be placed on the fact that all workmen should pull down all loose material from the face and sides before any work is started.

Clearance and shelter holes: Shelter holes are provided and maintained in good condition except that quite a few instances were noted throughout the mine where shelter holes were needed due to the fact that cross cuts which were being used as shelter holes had been filled with supplies. Outside of a couple of instances the proper clearance was maintained throughout the mine.

Electric machinery: Permissible equipment is inspected regularly and any defects are remedied upon being observed.

Stationary equipment is properly grounded and is maintained in good condition. Electric wiring: All power lines are properly installed, maintained, and were guarded where necessary except in one instance in 3 butt left, 4 flat right off 2 main where material was under bare wires.

Power lines are sectionalized which reduces the possibility of fires from electrical short circuits.

General remarks: No excessive coal dust conditions were observed in the mine. Coal spillage was kept well cleaned up in development work and an improvement was noted in retreat work except in 1 and 2 butts right, 4 flat left off 1 main where too much spillage was observed in the face areas.

Sprinkling lines with a sufficient pressure and volume of water are maintained in all working places to keep the coal dust from being in suspension at its source. The mine was well rock dusted and the rock dusting is maintained.

Every effort is being made to cut through from 3 main to the Garards Fort shaft so that additional ventilating facilities and another exit to the surface can be provided.

No explosive gas was found during the inspection.
Adequate fire protection is provided.

J. V. MCKENNA, Inspector.

Mr. MAIZE. Now, I made some comparisons of the Federal code with the Pennsylvania law. The present Federal code has a lot of nice words, sentences, and paragraphs that have absolutely no bearing on catastrophes, and a large number of them if complied with in every detail will have no bearing on the reduction of accidents. The Krug-Lewis code is a code on which the United States Bureau of Mines is now working. It had many special features to take care of special interests.

As an example, the code states, and I quote:

The storage and handling and use of black blasting powder in any form for blasting purposes in mines is herewith declared dangerous.

They declare it dangerous.

Here is a case in which the United States Bureau of Mines emphatically states that black blasting powder is dangerous for use in mines. After making that statement, they draw up a set of rules and regulations covering the use of black blasting powder.

If it is dangerous to use black blasting powder in the coal mines, there should be no compromise with it, with the men's lives. The code further states, and I quote:

All main fans should be installed on the surface in fireproof houses situated not less than 15 feet from the nearest side of the mine opening and be equipped with fireproof air ducts and ample pressure relief or explosion doors. However, fans that are offset any distance from the mine opening need not be moved. Under the same article, they state:

Mine fans now located in the bottom of shafts in fireproof surroundings may continue in use. Future installations of main fans at the bottom of a shaft may be permitted only after finding by the Director of the United States Bureau of Mines that such installation is necesasry.

Please note that the first part of the article states that all fans shall be installed on the surface in fireproof houses; then in the same article they state that new fans may be installed or old ones remain

at the bottom of the shaft if approved by the Director of the United States Bureau of Mines. Here again they are compromising because certain interests have fans installed in the mines whom they are afraid to antagonize. The point I am making here is that there is no place that is safe. In no place should any fan be permitted in the mines.

They make the statement that it should not be permitted in the mine. Still, they say, we will permit them in the mines if they are approved by the Director of the United States Bureau of Mines. In Pennsylvania we positively do not have a fan inside any mine in the Statein the bituminous regions in the State-all mine fans being installed on the surface, and there is no exception to this rule. Certainly a fan installed on the surface, even if it is directly in front of the drift, is less likely to be damaged when an explosion takes place than one located in the bottom of a shaft.

The first code written by the Bureau of Mines required that the fans must be offset 25 feet from the entrance of the mine. They then changed their minds and the present code states that they are only required to be offset 15 feet from the entrance of the mine. What is to prevent them from changing their minds again and requiring the fans to be offset 25 feet if a new code is written?

When the Federal Bureau of Mines will permit the fans to be put in the bottom of the shaft, certainly no coal operator is going to pay any attention to them when they require them to offset his fan 15 or 25 feet from the direct line of the drift when they are located outside.

No operator is going to tear a big fan down and offset it 15 feet when the Director of the Bureau of Mines permits him to put a fan in the mine in other States.

There is no exception in Pennsylvania. We must have them offset. Common sense and good judgment should, in my opinion, dictate to the writers of the code that the code should be written in such a manner that if the present fan were moved to a new location or a new fan was purchased, then it could be offset the distance required.

No one would object to that requirement and especially in view of the fact that, with the permission of the Director of the United States Bureau of Mines, the fans located in the mine at the bottom of shafts may remain there. Furthermore, they can also install a new fan at the bottom of the shaft if the Director approves it.

There are many things in the code that were written because mines in certain States had the conditions that suited the code. The Federal Code only requires 24 inches between the car and the rib. The Pennsylvania mining law requires 30 inches. The Federal Code only requires 24 inches on the side tracks between the car and ribs on moving trips, and the Pennsylvania mining law requires 30 inches. That 6-inch difference between the Federal Code and the Pennsylvania law may be the difference between life and death to a workman.

Mr. KELLEY. Let me interrupt you. The Pennsylvania State law requires 30 inches?

Mr. MAIZE. Yes.

Mr. KELLEY. The code calls for 24?

Mr. MAIZE. Twenty-four.

Mr. KELLEY. But there is no violation if there is 30. There would be no conflict there.

Mr. MAIZE. That is true. But if 30 is good for Pennsylvania, when they wrote the code, why shouldn't 30 be good for all the other States? Mr. KELLEY. In some of the States, they do not require any clearance at all.

Mr. MAIZE. They should.

Mr. KELLEY. I know they should.

Mr. MAIZE. But we got a report from the United States Bureau of Mines, and it says that there should be at least 24 inches. Now, if our law requires 30 inches, they should say, "You must put 30 inches here," because an operator gets a report and he says, "Here, the Federal Bureau of Mines says 24 inches at the face."

Mr. KELLEY. I know. But the Pennsylvania operator does that under the terms of Pennsylvania mining law that he must have 30 inches or he is penalized.

Mr. MAIZE. That is true, Congressman. But some of the mine workers and some of the mine officials get this code, and they think the Federal Government is bigger than the Pennsylvania Department of Mines, and, "We are going to follow their recommendations." Mr. KELLEY. If he is a smart operator, he will not.

Mr. MAIZE. The Federal code requires 80 feet between the shelter holes on haulage roads. The Pennsylvania mining law requires shelter holes to be spaced every 45 feet. Therefore, acocrding to the Pennsylvania laws, you will find that there are nearly twice as many shelter holes along the haulage road for men to go into to let a trip pass as are required by the Federal code. Again, this difference may mean the difference between life and death to a workman in any State, regardless of where he is.

The Federal code requires that where bare electric wires pass shelter holes, the wire shall be 6 feet from the floor of the mine. The Pennsylvania mining law requires that the wires be 62 feet above the floor of the mine. If it is less than 62 feet, it must be guarded on both sides of the wire to prevent the workmen from coming in contact with it.

The Federal code requires trip lights or reflectors in the front and rear ends of trains pushed and pulled by electric locomotives. The Pennsylvania mining laws do not permit or accept reflectors. They must be trip lights. The reason for this is that if the power should go off or if a man's light should go out, he cannot see that reflector in the mine. You have to have a light shining on a reflector. Therefore, you must have a light on the trips.

The Federal Code states that no person can ride on an electric locomotive except the trip rider and the attendant or any other person authorized by the mine foreman. Many men have been killed by riding on the locomotive in addition to the motorman and his assistant. This would permit the mine foreman to authorize other men to ride on the locomotive, in addition to the trip motorman and his assistant. The Pennsylvania laws absolutely prohibit anyone from riding on. the locomotive except the trip rider and his assistant, and the mine foreman has no authority under the law to authorize anyone to ride on the locomotive. It is the duty of the motorman not to permit any person to ride on that trip locomotive but his helper, and if he violates it and permits some other person to ride, we prosecute him. We have prosecuted a motorman for permitting someone else to ride on a trip.

The Federal Code requires that all shaft gates shall be controlled automatically or manually. It is not a big job to put an automatic gate on the shafts, and the lack of an automatic gate has permitted men to fall down shafts, cars to be pushed into the shafts, and so forth. Now, the Federal Code says, automatically or manually.

The Pennsylvania mine law requires that the gates of all shafts shall be automatically controlled at all times by the cage. In other words, the gate cannot be opened unless by the cage at the landing. Then the opening is automatic. The instant the cage leaves that landing, the gate automatically closes, even if no one is near the gate.

The Federal Code states that fire boss examination shall commence 4 hours before the appointed time for the men to enter the mine. The mining law of Pennsylvania requires that they begin within 3 hours prior to the appointed time for the men to enter the mine.

Pennsylvania law gives 25 percent less time between the examination and the men entering the mine for gas to accumulate or the roof to become dangerous at the working places or traveling ways.

I could go through the code and point out many other instances where the code is not as rigid as the Pennsylvania mining law. It is true that the code states that the laws of the State must be enforced notwithstanding what is in the code, but other States are permitted to get away with requirements that fit the code, and Pennsylvania has to live up to the requirements of the code, which seems to me to place a heavy economic burden upon the mines of Pennsylvania compared with the mines of the United States as a whole.

I believe that the record of Pennsylvania compared with the United States as a whole shows that our rigid laws have contributed to reduc ing accidents without the aid of the code.

I have submitted those reports to you.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Maize, in going through there, you have spoken of prosecuting the motorman and at other times you speak of prosecuting the employees.

Mr. MAIZE. Yes, sir.

Mr. McCONNELL. What type of prosecution is that?

Mr. MAIZE. It is a misdemeanor. A man goes before a squire and proves his case for violation of the provisions of the act of 1911, and the squire has no right except to fine that man as a misdemeanant. The case must go to court, unless the squire finds that he has not violated the law, and then he dismisses him. Then it goes to court, and we have very, very few cases that go to trial. Sometimes the man will waive hearing before the grand jury, and then will go before the judge, and we will tell the judge, "Now, this man has violated the law, and he has admitted it, and we do not want to persecute him. We would be glad if you would just give him a fine and let him go back to his work.

Mr. McCONNELL. Is there any average of similarity in the fines? Do they stay within certain limits, or do they vary?

Mr. MAIZE. They will vary depending on the violation of the law, how severe it was, and such things as that. We had cases in the anthracite regions where men were put in jail. They were fined and put in jail 30 days, and in one case 90 days, for violation of the State mining laws. That was specifically where they were carrying matches and smoking in gassy mines.

So the fine can be anything, Congressman McConnell.